Super Villain Summer Camp
by Cicilicious
Summary: After learning that Frida has unawoken superpowers, her and Manny are sent to a super villain summer camp. They're having the time of there lives, but something's wrong. Frida's powers prove to be alot deadlier than expected, in more ways than one. MxF
1. Summer Time!

See

See? That didn't take very long! I'm usually cursed with the capability to only write one story a year. So this is good! My last story was M rated (.) so I had to shake off the naughty naughty some how, so I decided to write this one. Yayness! Unfortunately, the way this is playing out in my head, this may lead to some naughty naughty thoughts later but I will tame them somehow! I always do!

**Btw, I will give a cookie to anyone who can tell me what happened in the episode Cuervo+Tigre. I can only get my hands on it in Spanish so I can only understand half of what they are saying! I want to know, dammit! **

……**.**

**Sorry.**

**Story time! Enjoy.**

_Super Villain Summer Camp_

The students at Leone Middle School twitched anxiously in their seats, eyes glued to the clock. Why did it always seem like the last few minutes in the year always go by painfully slow? Manny Rivera tapped his fingers impatiently on his desk. He looked over to his best friend, Frida Suarez, and saw his own impatience mirrored on her face. She was staring at the clock with much focus, like she was willing it to go faster. Manny had recently discovered something about his best friend that he was trying to keep to himself as much as possible, but he knew with the summer coming up, it would be very difficult. His gaze returned to the clock once again and excitement bubbled up in his stomach.

5,4,3,2,1…..

_Ring!_

Papers flew everywhere as the students cheered in joy. Frida actually jumped on her desk and squealed in triumph before jumping onto the ready hands of the crowd of students, much like she did at all of her shows. Manny yelled as well with happiness, but when Frida went to find him, he had disappeared. They traffic to get out the door was horrible, but Frida was fine waiting. She knew that 99 of the kids would still be on the grounds looking back at the school and thanking God it would be the last time they'd see it since they were going to high school next year, and she had plans to stand in the door way by herself and scream "My fellow former prisoners! WE'RE FREAKING FREE, DAMMIT!" As the crowd thinned, she saw that almost everyone was still in the front yard as she had expected. When everyone was finally out, she stood in the doorway and threw her fists in the air.

"My fellow former prisoners!" she yelled, getting everyone's attention. "WE'RE FREAKIN' FREE, DAMMIT!" The crowd cheered quite loudly at her announcement. She smiled, satisfied with her upraising, and began to step out the door. But before she had taken two steps, El Tigre landed in front of her, scooped her up, and shot off toward his house.

"Frida, Grandpapi has a summer surprise for us!" he said with much excitement in his voice. "Nice speech, by the way."

"Thank you." she said. "But, where'd you go? I thought you were gonna rip a math book into pieces and throw them like confetti as we flew away after I announced our long awaited freedom!"

Manny smirked. "I kinda forgot when Grandpapi called and told me about the surprise for us. I freakin' wanna know what it is!"

Not to many minutes later, Manny and Frida landed on the roof of Casa de Macho and ran into Manny's house to find Puma Loco. They found him in his room and immediately started questioning about the surprise.

"Manny, Frida, Rodolpho must obviously remain oblivious to the surprise!" he said. Manny and Frida nodded and waited for him to continue. "Now, tell me, have either of you every been to summer camp?"

Their eyes widened as they shook their heads. Puma peaked his head out of his door and looked both ways down the hall to make sure they would not be over heard, then closed his door. Manny and Frida plopped down on his bed as he scurried over to his closet and began digging through its contents, throwing many ideas over his shoulder as he searched. They ducked for the incoming shoe boxes, hat boxes, stolen ideas, glasses case, donkey, more stolen ideas, shoe polish, Senor Chappie, and again more stolen ideas before Puma yelled a triumphant "Ah ha!" and closed his closet. "Tada!"

He held out a picture of a much younger Puma Loco at what appeared to be a camp of some sort. "I have arranged for El Tigre to go to Camp Robabank! The super villain camp I went to when I was your age!" Manny looked at the picture with a "Ooooooo!"

Frida, however, looked unimpressed. "Hey," she said, crossing her arms. "I thought you said he had a surprise for _us._"

Puma laughed. "Oh, I got a spot for you, too, Frida." He said, patting her on the head, and she smiled. Manny looked up from the picture.

"Oh man, this is gonna be super macho!! But, Grandpapi," he said. "Frida doesn't have superpowers." He looked at his friend.

Frida put a hand on her stomach. "Ouch! Kick me while I'm down much?"

"Sorry." Maybe that wasn't the most considerate fact to point out. Puma scratched his head, thinking. "That's true." He said. "You'll have to figure that part out on your own, Frida. Now, I have Rodolpho convinced your going to camp that travels around helping those in need. The bus leaves in one week, so start packing! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go rob the bank. Call if you need me!" With that, he scampered to the window, but before jumping out, he turned back and said, "Oh, and Frida, you'll have to convince your parents to let you come."

"Yikes!" they both said. If there was one thing her dad would never let her do, it'd be go to a camp with Manny.

"I wish you the best of luck with that." Manny said.

Frida sighed. "I'm doomed!" she hopped off the bed. "Well, I'd better head home to think up a story to convince my dad with."

Manny walked her to the door. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll come up with something!" He said cheerfully. "You always do."

"Thanks, Manny." She said. She then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. He froze, his eyes growing wide and the color raising in his cheeks. Frida noticed his reaction, but chose to ignore it, not wanting to have to deal with any awkwardness. "I'll call you with my dad's response. Bye." And she left.

Manny went to his room and flopped down on his bed. Okay, now the discovery he had about his friend had just gone from a realization to a dilemma. He wasn't quite sure about it before, but that kiss made it all clear to him.

He was falling for his best friend.

There was no point denying it anymore. He had to admit it to himself. He was falling head over heels, crazy in love with Frida. _He _was falling for Frida. He was _falling _for Frida. He was falling for _Frida. _It sounded strange no matter how he said it. But now it was a 100 fact. He had just started considering the possibility when he noticed for the first time how cute she was with her goggles and her blue hair and her little boots.

He was broken out of his thoughts by the ringing of his cell phone. He drew it out of his pocket and saw the picture of the gorgeous senorita on the screen. "Hey, what'd you tell your dad? What'd he say?!" He asked.

"Manny, it's been like 5 minutes. I'm not home yet. But I thought of the perfect lie! Police cadet-training camp! My dad's been trying to convince me to go to that for that past…my life!" she squealed.

"Brilliant!" Manny said. "See? I told you you'd come up with something!"

"Okay, I'll call you have his reaction."

"'Kay, and Frida? You should probably put some thought into a super villain costume."

"Aye! That's right1 Thanks. Anywho, I'll call ya later. Chao."

"Bye!" And with a click, she was gone. Manny sighed, slipped the phone back in his pocket, and got up. He'd better start packing then. What would you need for a super villain camp anyway? You'd probably spend most of your time in your villain outfit, right? He grabbed his suitcase from his closet and laid it open on his bed. He stood there staring at it for quite some time, hoping something would come to him, so he jumped when his phone rang again. He quickly answered it.

"What'd he say, what'd he say, what'd he say?" he asked anxiously.

"We are going to super villain camp!"


	2. Frida's ancestor

**God, I need to work on my summary skills. Oh well.**

**By the way, for those of you who don't know, Carmela is Frida's mother and Emiliano is her father.**

Frida was in her basement going through some stuff, trying to improvise a super villain outfit. She opened a particularly dusty box, sending dust everywhere. She coughed, fanning the air with her hand. Maybe she should have Manny come over and help her. She looked inside the box. It was full of old photo albums.

"Oooooooo." Frida always loved looking through these things. She looked through the box, eyeing all the covers. Every Suarez had their own book. Hers was still under construction. She stopped when she saw one that caught her eye. 'Rida Suarez' But under the name, in parentheses, was printed (La Gatida) She pulled the book out and opened it. There were baby pictures and dates. Apparently, this chick had lived along time ago. She turned the page. There were older pictures of her in elementary school. Rida had a pair of goggles just like Frida's. She was smiling at the camera with her arm around a boy. There was something very familiar about the both of them. She turned the page to her middle school pictures and gasped.

Rida looked exactly like her! She even had blue hair! And that same boy was in the picture, too. Frida almost had a heart attack. He looked exactly like Manny! Geez, talk about irony. He had a belt buckle with a T on it, too. Under the picture, the caption said 'Rida and Miguel.' But it was the next page that really got Frida. It was a blown up picture that took up a whole page. It was of Rida and that Miguel boy, but she was wearing a red half hoodie that showed her stomach that was trimmed with a gold ribbon with 'La Gatida' written all around it. The sleeves were rolled up. She also had gold star earrings, wrist bands just like Frida's, a belt with a G on it, bellbottoms, boots and a necklace with Gatida on it. She was wearing glasses and her hood was on. She also had a gold tail and cat ears could be seen under her hood. And next to her was El Tigre. That's when it hit Frida. Miguel was the original El Tigre!

"Ha!" Frida said to herself. "I've met him!" Rida and Miguel were in super macho, super hero poses.

"Hija? Are you okay?" The door to the basement opened and Mrs. Suarez walked in.

"Mom, do you know who this is?" She showed her mother the book.

Carmela laughed. "That is your great-great-great-great-great-great-great…you know, I'm not really sure what she is to you. She's your ancestor." They both shared a laugh.

Frida looked at the picture again. "She looks just like me."

Her mother looked at the picture. "Dios mio, she did! _Exactly_ like you."

"Why does it have 'La Gatida' on the front?"

Carmela looked at the picture, then at her daughter, then sighed. "I knew this day would come eventually." She got up and searched through the boxes.

"What day?" Frida asked, shutting the book.

"Your ancestor, Rida Suarez, had super powers." Her mother said, continuing to search through the boxes. Frida froze, not for long though.

"Awesome!! I have a super powered ancestor! Does that mean that the Suarezs' have powers, too? Or was it just her?"

"Ah, here we go!" Mrs. Suarez pulled open a box labeled 'La Gatida' and dug through it. Before long, she drew out Rida's G belt. "Here, put this on." She handed it to Frida. "It will only react with the next La Gatida, but we never knew who she would be. You look so much like her, I think it may be you, sweetie." Frida eagerly put it on.

"Does it work like Manny's? Do I spin the buckle?" she asked.

"I think so." Her mother said, sitting down by her daughter, taking the book and opening it. "Rida was best friend's with the original El Tigre and I think they got their belts together, so I wouldn't be surprised if they worked the same way."

Frida looked down at the buckle and spun it. She was immediately engulfed in gold fire, much like what she had experienced when she became La Tigressa. When it subsided, she should before her mother with her eyes closed. "Did it do anything?" Her mother was silent. She felt a breeze on her stomach. Her eyes shot open and she looked down at herself.

She was La Gatida.

She ran to the mirror they had on the wall and looked at herself. She looked exactly like Rida in the picture. She removed her hood. The sunglasses Rida was wearing had replaced her goggles and behind them, her cat ears popped out. She waged her tail, just to get a feel for it. Changing into La Gatida had automatically made her muscles more tone. Her exposed abs were now ripped and her arms looked like they could beat White Pantera in an arm wrestling match. But she still had a slender figure, if just a little bit curvier. Her hair was also alittle longer. Unable to hold in her excitement, she squealed and hopped up and down. She turned back to her mother and flew at her giving her the biggest hug ever. "I'm so proud!" she said, with tears in her eyes. "Let's go show your father!"

"Yay!" Frida couldn't wait to see the look on her sisters' faces. But, more importantly, she couldn't wait to show Manny! If she did say so her self, she looked _fine_! She wondered what he would say.

"_Frida….wow."_

"_Wow.. .you look…amazing!" _

"_Uhhhhhhhhhh……"_

Probably the last one. She laughed to herself as her mother lead her upstairs. "Emiliano! Come here! Quickly!"

Mr. Suarez rushed into followed by his two oldest daughters. "What? What's wrong? Has that Rivera punk don't something to Frida?" He stopped at the sight of the youngest Suarez sister. She had her hands behind her back, patiently waiting her father's reaction. "It's like Rida Suarez jumped out of the photo album." He said. He immediately hugged Frida, who hugged back so hard, he yelped in pain. She immediately let go.

"Sorry dad!" she said. "I don't know my own strength yet, I guess." She laughed nervously. Her father laughed too, soon joined in by her mother and they all shared a family hug. Only Anita and Nikita remained in the dark.

"What the hell…?" they said together. Carmela showed them the photo album and explained that Frida was the new La Gatida. They seemed not to care that much. Frida didn't care about there reaction. She knew them well enough to know that they were cringing with jealousy on the inside. It was Manny's reaction she was interesting in seeing.

**Okay, stopping there and saving Manny's reaction for the next chapter. It's 4:55 and I'm tired as hell. And for the record, I will draw a picture of La Gatida and put it on my page on DA. The stupid thing won't let me put a link so I just tell you my name in cicilicious (yes, same as here) **

**I don't know when I'll be able to get it up, so keep your eyes open.**


	3. The story of La Gatita

**Whew! Luckily I had time to marinate in my ideas last night. Yep yep yep. **

**I personally like where this is going. I've always liked the thought of Frida with super powers. Btw, I forgot to mention that La Gatita does have black gloves that don't cover her fingers. **

**And for the record, La Gatita is Spanish for The Kitten. **

**And a cookie for Turbomechasonic!**

**And to acosta perez jose ramiro, that was a very good description, but that wasn't the episode I was referring to. But I shall give you a cookie anyway for effort! And about the La Gatita thing….I knew that. I was testing you to see if you were paying attention, which you were. Another cookie for you! **

**Yes, I'm the kind of person who talks to people directly. **

**--**

It was a proud day for the Suarez family. They called all their relatives and told them that there was a new La Gatita. It took her forever to get away from them. After many failed attempts, she settled for waiting until it got late and convincing them she was tired. She flicked her belt, turning back into Frida and walked up stairs. As she left, she saw her mother's face suddenly twist into a shocked expression, like she remembered something. Carmela whispered something to Emiliano and Frida heard him say, "Don't worry. Frida's will is much stronger than Rida's was…I hope." She felt the belt around her hips with her hand as she walked up the stairs. She was the descendant of a super chick who, from what her family told her, was just as, if not, more super macho than El Tigre! She had the book tucked neatly under her right arm. Upon arrival to her room, she arranged the pillows under her covers to look like she was asleep, just in case, and she spun her buckle. She looked at herself in the mirror one more time. She wondered exactly what she could do as La Gatita. Her mother had said that the originally El Tigre and Rida had gotten their belts together so it must be similar to Manny's powers. She opened her cell phone.

'You awake?' the text message read. Before to long, her phone buzzed.

'Of course.'

'Are you at home?'

'Yep.'

She shut her phone and went to her window. She remembered what she did as La Tigressa with her claws and aimed her hand out the window at a building close by. She shot her claw at it. To her amazement, it actually worked! She put her hood up, clung tightly to the book, and swung out her window.

At the Rivera household, Manny was in his room, wondering why Frida would ask such strange questions. I mean, it's not like she could sneak over, right? And why wasn't she texting him back? He sent her another message. 'Why?'

'You'll see.'

Well, that didn't help much. He was sitting on his bed, his bag still far from packed. His intended to ask Grandpapi what he would need for Camp Robabank as soon as he got back from robbing the bank. Manny laughed, finally seeing the names meaning. He jumped when he heard a tapping at his window. He hesitantly got up. Who the hell would be tapping at his window? Just to be on the safe side, he spun his belt. Whoever was on the other side must have heard him change because the tapping turned to knocking.

"Manny, it me! Open the damn window!"

That was Frida's voice. He wondered if it could be a trick. There was no way _Frida_ could be at his window. They were like thirty stories up! But he opened the window anyway. Frida jumped in, landing gracefully next to him.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh……"

He stared at her, not knowing what to say. She had ears and a tail! And her outfit was rather…appealing. She took her hood off and looked at him, waiting for his reaction. He just continued to stare, widen eyed and mouth slightly agape. She smirked, slightly expecting this reaction from him. She went over to his bed and set the book down, then turned back to him.

"Well?" she asked. "Whada ya think? Pretty cool, huh?" El Tigre was at a loss for words. She giggled.

He suddenly found his voice. "How….? What…? Why…?" Okay, sort of found his voice. Frida giggled again and sat down on his bed, putting the book in her lap. She patted the seat next to her for him to sit down. He did, still in utter shock. She opened the book to the elementary school pictures.

"Every Suarez family member has a photo album just of them." She explained. "I was looking around my basement earlier and I found this one. It's Rida Suarez. She lived like over 100 year ago. Look." She showed him the picture of Rida and Miguel in elementary. Manny looked the picture over.

"Hmm." He said. "There's something familiar about them."

"I know." She turned the page to the middle school pictures. Manny gasped, just as she had. It was the picture where you could see that they looked exactly like Manny and Frida. "That's Miguel Rivera. A.k.a. the original El Tigre." She turned the page to the picture of the original El Tigre and the original La Gatita. "Ironic, no?"

Manny stared at the picture. "It's like we were meant to be best friends!" he said. "So, La Gatita, huh?"

Frida smiled. "Apparently, they got their belts together, so they pretty much work the same way." Frida spun her buckle, changing back to Frida, then spun it again to turn back into La Gatita. "The La Gatita belt would only work for the next La Gatita, but they didn't know who she would be. My mom found it in the basement and gave it to me. Looks like your not the only super kitty in town anymore." Frida chuckled, batting her eyelashes and flicking him with her tail.

"Wow." Manny looked at Frida. "Seriously, it's like we were meant to be best friends! So does that mean you have your own super powers now too?" Frida nodded and Manny couldn't help but hug her. She hugged him back rather hard, showing off her new strength. He winced in her death grip, but laughed when she released him. They continued to look at the photo album. It had pictures of Rida showing off her powers, such as the claws, the strength, the speed, and the all around super machoness. But when they got to the place where the high school pictures should be, it ended. They looked all through it, but there were no more picture. "That's weird." Frida said. "If there's one thing I one about my family, it's that they never leave something half done."

"Yeah, that is weird." Manny agreed. "By the way, was La Gatita a hero or a villain?"

Frida pondered for a moment. "You know, I'm not sure. Probably a hero, but I could be wrong."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, more than half my family are police officers, so it would make sense. But if she's anything like me, which apparently she was, she'd have the same dilemma as El Tigre. She'd be both. I'm gonna ask me mom." She stood up. "Well, I think it's time to be hittin' the ol' dusty trail." She said in a mock cowboy voice. "I just wanted to show you the…" she gestured to herself. "me. I'll see you tomorrow." She picked up her book and jumped out the window.

El Tigre watched her leave and spun his belt, turning back into Manny. Man, did she look _hot_ in that outfit. This was gonna be a fun summer. He did wonder why the album was cut short though. He shrugged it off and went into the kitchen to see if Grandpapi was back yet. He walked in just as Puma was sneaking back in through the window. "Hi, Grandpapi!" he said. "Guess who just left?"

"Not the policia?" he asked, clinging tighter to the bag he was carrying.

"No." Manny said excitedly. "Ever heard of La Gatita?"

"La Gatita?!" Puma shouted. "How do you know about La Gatita?!"

Just then, Rodolpho came running in. "I heard La Gatida! Who said La Gatita?!"

That definitely was not the reaction Manny expected from his family. "Uh…I did."

Rodolpho looked at his son. "Manny! Where did you hear about La Gatita?"

Manny was confused. "To be totally honest, she just left. But-"

Rodolpho and Puma looked at each other with wide eyes. "You mean to say that La Gatita has returned?" Rodolpho asked.

"What's the big deal about La Gatita? Was she like a really dangerous mass murderer or something?" Manny asked anxiously.

Rodolpho led Manny and Puma to the couch, where they all sat down. "No, she was not a murderer of any kind, but she was incredibly dangerous. Mijo," he said. "We always knew that the next La Gatita would come along some day. We just didn't know when. Her story has been past down from Rivera to Rivera. I suppose the time has come for me to tell you, just as Papi told me when I was your age, and his father told him when he was-"

"Just tell me the story!" Manny interrupted impatiently.

"Right, yes, of course." Rodolpho said getting back on track. "Well, it all started along time ago, back the original El Tigre, whose real name was Miguel Rivera was your age. He had a best friend named Rida Suarez, who was also La Gatita."

"Frida's ancestor." Manny said. Rodolpho thought for a moment.

"Yes, being a Suarez, I suppose that would make her Frida's ancestor. How ironic." He said, then continued his story. "Anyway, Miguel and Rida did everything together, much like you and Frida. But as you know, Miguel couldn't decide on being a super hero or super villain. And because of that, nether could Rida. So they were two teenage hero/villains. Rida was a very sweet girl when it came right down to it. She just liked to have fun. Unfortunately, her idea of fun was crime and she was very powerful. Anyway, what Miguel didn't expect was to fall in love with his friend, which is exactly what happened."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Manny stopped him. "Your telling me that the original El Tigre fell for his best friend?" Talk about history repeating itself.

"Si, mijo."

"He fell for La Gatita?"

"Yes, Manny."

"……Tigre fell in love with Gatita?"

"Manny, I think we've established that." Rodolpho said. Wow, this was starting to get really weird.

"Anyway," his father said. "Rida's powers were so great, that they became unstable. She eventually lost control of them and they over took her, turning her into…well, let's just say 'one mean kitten'. She began terrorizing innocent people and reeking havoc on the city. Miguel loved her with all his heart, but he knew he had to do something. But it wasn't really Rida's fault she was so destructive, you see, so he tried to get her to regain control of her feline instincts. She attacked him on the spot, but then she started to fight her wild side to get her self-control back. It pained Miguel greatly to see her in such a struggle, but there was nothing he could do. Rida was very strong, but her instincts were stronger. She died at the age of 15. That's why the original El Tigre went crazy."

Manny sat in silence, letting the story sink in. Frida was 14. "So…would the new La Gatita have trouble controlling her powers too?"

"That depends on who it is, Manny. But past experience point to yes. But you can never be sure."

"You're telling me that there's like a 60 chance of Frida's powers going haywire?" Manny yelled, jumping up off the couch. Puma happened to be drinking something at that very moment and spit it out all over Rodolpho when he heard Frida's name.

"_Frida_?! He asked. "Your telling us that _Frida_ is the new La Gatita?!"

Manny raised one eyebrow. "Well, yeah. I mean, c'mon. Rida, Frida. She showed me the photo album and they look exactly alike."

Rodolpho turned to Puma. "Papi, don't we have an album as well?" Puma scurried out of the room and returned shortly afterward with a book in hand labeled 'El Tigre'. He flipped it open and gave it to Rodolpho. He turned the pages in it until he found what he was looking for. He then gave it to Manny, who almost had a heart attack. There, in the middle of the page, was a picture of El Tigre and La Gatita sharing a kiss. His eyes grew wide and his heart picked up it's pace. His father looked over his shoulder. "Your right, Manny. Frida _does_ look exactly like Rida."

...

Frida slipped into her window and spun her belt. With the album held tightly to her chest, she tiptoed out of her room. As she walked down the hallway, she noticed her vision was much sharper and her hearing was much more acute. She walked slowly, trying to memorize every scent that met her nose. When she got to the stairs, she was pleased to see that her parents were still up, talking quietly in the kitchen. She ran down the stairs with more stealth than she expected from her self. "Mom? Dad?" she said.

Her parents jumped. "Oh, Frida." Carmela said, turning and seeing her daughter. "I didn't know you were still up."

Frida chuckle. "My senses are like 'wow!' so I couldn't sleep. I was looking through the album, but it stopped just after middle school."

Her parents looked at each other with concerned faces. "Mija," her father said. "Sit down." He pulled out a chair for her at the table and then took a seat beside his wife. "Rida, your ancestor, the original La Gatita…she died at the age of 15."

Frida's eyes widen. "_Why_?!"

"She was best friends with a _Rivera_!" Mr. Suarez said through his teeth. Frida looked shocked. His wife glared at him.

"Don't tell her that!" Mrs. Suarez said. "Mija, Rida's powers were so incredible, that she couldn't control them. What worries us is that you have inherited those powers. I only pray that what happened to her won't happen to you." Frida saw a tear in her mother's eye. She hopped down from her seat and hugged her mother. Emiliano hugged them too. Her parents then carried her up to her room, tucked her in, kissed her on the forehead, and said good night. As they shut the door, Frida slipped the photo album under her pillow and it wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep.

--

**Damn, this story is really kickin' ass, if I do say so myself. And they haven't even left for camp yet!** **Thank you to all the reviewers!**


	4. What really happened

**Okay, I got the picture of La Gatita done but I don't know when I'll be able to get it up. I'll keep trying.**

**Btw, something I just realized I didn't do.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own El Tigre. I wish I did, but I don't. Could I say I own La Gatita? I own the idea of La Gatita. Can I own the original La Gatita? Oh well, you get my point.**

……………………………………**.. **

The week past by surprisingly fast. Manny had wanted to go crime fighting/starting with Frida to see what she could do, but her family was so busy gawking over her that she didn't get a chance to see him at all until the day before the bus left for camp. The bus to Police Cadet Training Camp left a day before theirs did so after her family saw her off, she jumped out the window (a thing she was proud to say was quite easy for her) and went to Casa de Macho instead. She arrived alittle earlier than Manny had expected, but it didn't matter. She changed back into Frida before knocking and being let in by an almost too excited Manny.

"Hey, Manny." She said, pulling her lightly packed suitcase through the door. Manny grabbed it from her.

"Here, lemme help you with that." He said eagerly. Frida laughed. "Thanks."

Rodolpho and Puma were sitting on the couch, and the first thing that caught their eyes was Frida's belt. "So, Frida" Rodolpho said, heroically. "How does it feel to bare the awesome powers of _La Gatita_?"

Frida glanced at Manny, who was bouncing up and down anxiously on his toes. "Show 'em, show 'em, show 'em, show 'em, show 'em, show 'em!"

"Alright, alright!" Frida said and spun her belt. She was a bit surprised by their shocked faces, but they soon turn to happy smiles. Puma and Rodolpho jumped up, grabbed Manny and Frida and gave them both a giant hug. "There's a new member of the family!" Rodolpho said. Everyone's hugging was pretty much focused on Frida, and being three superpowered men, she was considerably squished. Thinking quickly, she shot her grabbling claws around the Riveras and hugged as tight as she could. They all "Aye!"ed at her bear hug. A loud crack was heard and Frida immediately released them. They looked at Puma who was wide eyed, and watched as he sat up straight. He felt his back.

"Dios Mio," he said. "No more back pain! Thank you Frida!" Frida sighed in relief, thinking she might have hurt him. The Riveras looked at her. Placing her left fist on her right hip, she flexed her right arm, which was quite impressive. "Super Macho." She stated. They all laughed together.

"Frida," Rodolpho said, sitting back down. "Have your parents explained what happened to the original La Gatita?" Kill joy.

"Yeah," Frida rocked back and forth on her heels.

"And did they explain _exactly_ what happened?" His gaze was intense.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Elaborate." Frida sat on the coffee table as the Puma and Manny sat on either side of Rodolpho. "Well, what exactly did you parents tell you?"

"Just that she died when she was 15 because her powers were so incredible she couldn't control them."

Rodolpho, Puma and Manny exchanged glances. "What, is there more to the story?" Frida asked.

"Well," Rodolpho said, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly. "Manny, maybe you should tell her the stor-" Just then, a loud ringing was heard for Frida's pocket. The sound startled her and she jumped, making a cat-like "EEREWR!" sound. (Bare with me people) She fumbled in her pocket and quickly pulled out her phone.

"Hi, Dad!" she said. Her tail wagged anxiously behind her. She looked at Manny and motioned to his dad with her eyes. Manny quickly plugged his dad's ears. "Yeah, I'm just on the bus, cuz that's where I am, I'm on the bus. Going to Police camp." Manny chuckled at her story. She stepped on his foot. "Yeah, I am looking forward to it. 'It' being going to police camp." Her expression turned to 'what the hell?' at her father's next words. "No, I'm not gonna arrest Manny, Dad! I'm not even an officer! Am I even old enough to-?……….Yeah, that's true." She turned her mouth away from the phone. "Damn!" she whispered. "Yeah, okay, Dad…..yes, I'll call every other night…..okay….Love you too. Bye." She shut her phone and slipped it back in her pocket. "Oy. Anyway, so what's the-?" She stopped when she saw Rodolpho and Puma's faces. They were plastered with shock. "What?" she asked.

Rodolpho pointed a shaking finger at Frida. "You…..you…"

"You meowed!" Puma yelled. Frida looked confused at Manny, who shrugged.

"I did?"

"Yes, you did! When your phone rang!" Puma looked at Rodolpho, who still frozen in shock.

"What's the big deal, Grandpapi?" Manny asked. "So she meowed. So what?" Though he'd never say it out loud, Manny thought it was kinda cute.

"Frida," Puma said. "Do you see _Manny_ meowing every time he gets startled?"

Manny looked at his Grandfather like 'Wha...?' Frida looked at Manny and then back at Puma. "No." Her ears laid flat on her head, like a kitten getting in trouble. Manny couldn't help but find that adorable, too.

"Papi," Rodolpho said, finally finding his voice. "We are going to classify that as a new-to-being-feline slip. Nothing to get all worked up about."

Puma laughed nervously. "Your right, Rodolpho. Nothing to worry about." But they both sounded unconvinced.

"Dad, Grandpapi, what's the big deal over a little meow? I mean, we're all cats here, right?" he laughed uneasily.

"We apologize, Frida." Rodolpho said. "And to answer your question, Manny, we told you what happened to the original La Gatita. Well, the first sign if her instincts taking over her was when she started meowing without meaning to." Manny's eyes widen.

"But, it's only been like a week, so that can't possible be it." He said.

"Which brings us back to the story!" Frida said impatiently. "What the freak happened?"

"Manny, I think you should tell her the story." Rodolpho said.

Manny looked at his father, his eyes saying 'Are you crazy?!' "Why?"

"Manny, she your friend." Mr. Rivera said.

"Oh, for the love of the original La Gatita, I'll tell her!" Puma said. "Your parents told you that it was her powers that killed her?" Frida nodded. "Well, that's not exactly what happened. You see, she was best friends with the original El Tigre."

"I know. Miguel Rivera."

"Right. Anyway, it was her _instincts_ that made her lose her control, not her powers." Frida seemed confused, so Puma explained. "Her powers were so strong that it made her instincts very strong as well. So what happened was Miguel tried to stop her from destroying the city by getting her to control herself again, which resulted in her attacking him. But when the Rida underneath the power saw her best friend, she started to fight it. And it was the struggle with herself that killed her."

Frida's eyes were wide with shock. Manny, however, was thanking God that Grandpapi left out the part about El Tigre and La Gatita in love.

"And as Riveras, it is our job to see to it that that never happens again!" Rodolpho said heroically.

"Wait a minute!" Frida said. "What set her off anyway? Did she just wake up one morning and lose it?"

"She got mad." Puma said. "She got mad, so her instincts took over and told her to fight back."

"Wow." Frida said. Rodolpho looked at his watch. "Aye!" he said. "Time for work! Okay, be good!" And he ran out the front door.

They watched him as he disappeared, then looked at each other. "Was he talking to us?" Frida asked, deviously.

"Actually, I believe that was directed to Senor Chappie." Manny said. "What'd you think Grandpapi?"

"I'm so proud of you, childrens!" he said wiping a tear from his eye, and then was sucked up into his hat. "_Puma Loco_!"

"_El Tigre_!"

And for the first time in her life, Frida didn't feel powerless.

…………………………..

**Yeah, I know. A pretty stupid way to end the chapter but what ever. **


	5. The bus ride

Forget all the other truth or dares you've read

Yeah, the last chapter ended kinda iffy, but I needed a place to stop.

By the way, I drew Frida as La Gatita and I tried to put sunglasses on her and it looked effed up, and the rolled up sleeves looked stupid so just totally forget that they were ever part of the story. Her jacket is now sleeveless. And she doesn't have a mask. As in she is minus a mask. Screw secret identities.

…………………………………….

El Tigre and La Gatita sat on the roof of Casa de Macho looking up at the stars. It was considerably late and Puma and Rodolpho had long since gone to bed. Manny, Frida and Puma had spent the day causing mischief and getting into a whole bunch of shenanigans. Both Riveras were amazed by Frida's powers. She actually amazed herself, too. As they lay there under the stars, Manny looked at Frida. "So, what's it feel like to have super powers that are actually yours?" he asked with a laugh.

"Awesome." She said in a dazed voice. She closed her eyes and Manny looked back up at the sky.

"Hey, Frida?"

"Hmm?"

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you." He looked over at her again and sighed. She was curled up, tail wrapped around her, fast asleep. Manny carefully slid his arms behind her knees and back and lifted her. He jumped down to his back deck, opened the door with his tail, and went to the living room where he gently laid Frida on the couch. He watched her for awhile. Before heading off to bed, he bent down and gently kissed her cheek, then scampered off before he was caught. He did however stay long enough to hear her start to purr in her sleep.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was an early morning for the Riveras. Frida, having the sleeping pattern of a cat, didn't respond when she was told she needed to wake up. Manny ended up having to drop an encyclopedia on the coffee table next o her before she shot up, wide eyed, saying "I'm up! I'm up!" Puma insisted on taking them to the bus, pointing out that Rodolpho had an early morning meeting. So after saying good bye, he headed off to work unnecessarily early for a meeting that didn't exist.

The bus to the camp did leave early, so they had to get moving. They got there just as the bus was loading the last few people. They threw their stuff with the cargo, said good bye to Puma, Manny changed into El Tigre (Frida had fallen asleep as La Gatita last night) and loaded the bus.

"Okay, let's see who we got here." Frida said as the got on. She recited people's names as she walked by them. "Let's see, we got the Cactus Kid, Che, Dr. Chipotle," He turned to the guy sitting next to him (which was Sergio, but in disguise. Senor Siestro can't go to summer camp!) and said in a sprung voice, "She got my name right!" Frida continued her listing. "Black Cuervo," When Cuervo saw Manny, she perked up but when she saw Frida with him, she cringed with hatred. And then there were a few others that they didn't know.

"Hey, Manny, mira!" Frida said, pointing to the back of the bus. "It's Django!" Manny looked where she was pointing and sure enough, Django of the Dead was sitting with his hat pulled over his eyes and his feet up on the seat back in front of him. They went to the back and sat next to him, Frida taking the window seat and Manny in the aisle. "Hey, Django!" Frida said.

Django looked up. "Hey guys!" Then he did a double take on Frida. "_Frida_?" She smirked and nodded. "Well, look at you, Kitten! When did you become so…" he looked her up and down, "cat like?" Manny saw something in Django's expression that made him angry for some reason.

Frida chuckled. "Turns out that I have an ancestor whose super powers I inherited. I just got the belt last week."

Django looked at her outfit again. "Wait, I recognize the look. Would that by any chance be the legendary La Gatita?"

Frida turned to Manny. "How is it that everyone seems to know about her?"

Django laughed. "I did say 'legendary'. But, other than that, Kitten, I'm dead. I know Rida personally."

Frida's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She unintentionally leaned over Manny's lap. "Seriously? What's she like?" Manny, who had originally been interested in the conversation, was now far too distracted to listen. He kept his eyes on Django, pretending to listen, to try and hide his blushing face from Frida.

"She's awesome! The nicest chica anyone's ever met." Django said. "I can't believe she's your ancestor! Talk about irony! You do look exactly like her."

Django and Frida continued to talk about La Gatita for at least a good part of an hour. It bothered Manny that he kept calling Frida 'Kitten'. When they seemed to have covered everything, Manny tried to jump back in the conversation. "So, Django, why are _you_ going to a _camp_? You never seemed like the type to do something recreational."

"Yeah." Frida agreed.

Django's expression went sour. "Nana Sartana thinks I need to be more 'social'." He quoted the air with his fingers to emphasize his point.

The bus ride to camp Robabank was much longer than Manny had expected. Some of the kids on the bus had fallen asleep. Django had pulled his hat over his eyes again and Manny could tell that he had fallen asleep, too. He wondered why Frida was still awake, as cats usually spent most of there time sleeping. But just as he thought it, he felt something on his lap. He looked down and saw Frida curled up on the seat, using his lap as a pillow. She was purring rather loudly, but the noise of the bus drowned her out to everyone except Manny. He slowly wrapped his tail around hers and rested his hand on her waist. And for the rest of the ride, Manny had a silly grin on his face and he didn't even know it.

About an hour later, he woke with a start as he felt the bus come to a halt and realized he had fallen asleep himself. He looked down at Frida who was still sleeping like a kitten (lol). He gently shook her. "Frida," he said. "Wake up, were here." Her eyes opened and she took a moment to take in her surroundings. She shot right up and pressed her face to the window, trying to get a view of their new habitat. Django jolted awake next to them, still half asleep saying, "I'm up, what happened?"

It didn't take long for the bus to unload and for everyone to get his or her bags. Frida was smart enough to pack light, most of the weight in her suitcase coming from her guitar. And it looked like Django's guitar was the only thing he brought. Manny suddenly felt stupid for bringing so much unnecessary crap. They were escorted to the front gate where two men were standing. Apparently, you saw the first one, then the other one. The gate wasn't anything like Manny had expected. It was a tall chain link fence with barb wires it the top. When they got to the man at the gate, he asked Frida, "Welcome to Camp Robabank, how evil are you?" She put her pinky finger, claw extended, to the corner of her mouth in a Dr. Evil pose. "You're in." And he let her through. Next was Django. "How evil are you?"

"I once kicked a puppy. A lost, unemployed puppy. With a cold." He said menacingly.

"You're in." And Django joined Frida on the other side. Then the man turned to Manny. "How evil are you?"

Thinking quickly, Manny said, "One time, I tied up and forced a bunch of people to watch commercials." The man looked at him strangely. "_Just _the commercials….the long obnoxious ones…..from Britain."

"You're in." And Manny ran off to catch up with Frida and Django.

"Manny, that was hilarious!" Frida said when he found them.

"What, the commercial thing? Yeah, I just said the first thing that came to mind."

Django looked at Frida. "You could hear him from here?" She nodded. "Damn, those powers are catching on quick."

When they got to the next man, he said to Frida, "Okay, you got in. But do you know the secret super villain hand shake?" He held out his hand. Frida stared at it for a second, then hesitantly took it and shook it, saying, "Uh, How are you?"

"Fine, and you? Alright, you're in."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After they were shown what cabins they would sleep in (Manny shared one with Django, Dr. Chipotle, and Sergio, and Frida was stuck Cuervo and two other chicks she didn't know.), they all met in the cafeteria where the consular would talk to them. Frida slipped in at the last second, quickly found Manny and Django, and sat with them. "What took ya?" Manny asked.

"Sorry," she said. "I saw a mouse."

"Hey, mans!" the consular said. "I'm El Oso and I'm your consular!"

…………………………………..

Dun dun dun! Lol. Frida has to share a cabin with Cuervo. This is gonna be fun!


	6. Everbody loves Frida

**I tell ya, I am lovin' being an author right about now.**

**That's all I have to say about that.**

**Sorry it took so long, but I've also been working on those sketches, which are almost done.**

………………………………………………………………………………………………………**.**

"_El Oso?!"_ Manny whispered. "_He's_ the consular? Is he even capable-?"

"Manny, chillax." Frida said. "It's a super villain camp. Chances are there's gonna be a super villain consular."

"Yeah, but…_him_?"

El Oso was wearing a button shirt, khaki shorts and a baseball cap. Definitely not something you'd expect to see him in. This was going to be a long month. He cleared his throat. "So, mans, who's been here before?" A good half of the room raised their hands, which wasn't exactly a lot. It was a huge camp, but it was a lot less populated than any of them expected. "Okay, well, welcome back. And to the newbies, welcome to Camp Robabank." He took a clipboard from behind his back and looked over it. The sight of El Oso with a clipboard made Manny and Frida giggle. "Just a few reminders, activity sigh-up's are on the main bulletin board just outside the door. You can choice from lock-picking, determining your opponent's weakness, one-on-one combat which involves training with your own powers, jumping a fence without setting off an alarm, making a bomb out of household items, holding a hostage, computer hacking, distractions, sabotage, disguises, basic everyday villaining, and arts and crafts where this week we'll be making super villain masks! Each activity is an hour long and you must have at least six. During your free time, you can chose from games like baseball, soccer, football, volleyball, basketball, swimming, and…Uh…a whole bunch of other stuff." He set his clipboard down. "And that pretty much covers it. Oh, and don't forget that ice cream time is at 3pm every day. Those who do bad things will get an extra scoop. Breakfast is at 8, lunch is at 2, and dinner is at 7. Snack will be available throughout the day. And last but not least, this year's camp project!" A buzz of excitement rose from the small crowd. "This year, we are going to flood the hero's camp with nacho cheese!"

The campers cheered. "Hero's camp?" Manny asked.

"Yeah, there's a hero camp on the other side of the lake." Django said, lazily.

Frida looked at Manny. "I love your Grandpapi!" she said, twitching with joy.

"Hey, if you think _that _sounds fun, you should just wait to see what else they have, Kitten." Django said, smirking.

'Again with the pet name!' Manny thought angrily. El Oso released everyone to go get settled in and sign-up for their activities. Frida, Manny, and Django went to the bulletin board as soon as they were released. "God, so many options." Frida said, looking over all of the sigh-up sheets.

"Yeah," Manny said. "Frida, you should definitely think about doing the training with your own powers."

Frida located the sigh-up sheet for that and looked at it. "Yeah, I probably should." She took the pen and was about to write down her name. "Do I sigh as Frida or La Gatita?"

"Just put La Gatita." Django said, as he looked through the sheets himself. Frida shrugged and scribbled away. By the time they were done, Frida and Manny had both sighed up for computer hacking, sabotage, distraction, finding your opponent's weakness, holding a hostage, and the self-training. Django simply watched and said he'd sigh up for his later. So they all went around exploring the camp. Although from the outside, it looked like a prison with the fences and the barbed wire, inside it looked just as you'd expect a camp to look. Cabins and fields, there was even a ranch! That's when it hit them that the camp was disguised as a prison from the outside so that no one would know about the super villain camp! They had stopped to look at the horses that were hanging out in the stable when Cuervo strutted by, obviously trying to get Manny's attention. She was enraged to see that he hadn't even noticed her. She looked at Frida and almost passed out. That was La Gatita! Everyone knew her story. How was she supposed to compete with _that_? She stormed off angrily.

That night at dinner, Manny, Frida and Django sat together, talking away as they ate. "Hey, Manny." Frida said.

"Yea?"

"I caught Cuervo trying to get your attention earlier." She smirked.

Manny grimaced and glanced in the direction of Black Cuervo's table. She was sitting with a bunch of girls they didn't know. "She's _always_ trying to get my attention." He said. "It's understandable though. No chica can resist my super machoness." He flexed his arm, showing off for Frida, who rolled her eyes.

"Well, she's like obsessed with you." Frida put her hand to her forehead in a damsel in distress pose and spoke in an accent similar to Cuervo's. "Oh, Tigre! I want you to notice me so bad that I can't even think straight!" They all laughed.

"Didn't you go out with her?" Django asked, taking another bite of his hotdog.

Manny sighed. "Briefly. But I was young and stupid then."

Frida snickered. "That was like a few months ago!"

Manny looked at her. "Thanks, Frida."

She held up her hands defensively. "Just saying." She took another big gulp of her milk, and looked back at Cuervo. "She erks me."

"Why?" Django asked.

"She reminds me of Zoe Aves."

"Really? Why?" Manny asked.

"Ever notice that she has the same prissy accent?"

Suddenly, Dr. Chipotle Jr. and Sergio (he was going by the name Senor Senesto Jr.) came up to Frida and sat down on either side of her, pushing Manny out of the way. "Hi, Frida!" they both said.

Frida's eyes were wide with surprise as she looked back and forth between the two unexpected visitors. "Um…hi." Manny was alittle more than extremely pissed off that he had literally just been pushed aside. He growled loudly, but neither of them seemed to notice. However, Frida's ears perked up at the sound. 'Help me!' she mouthed to Django, who was sitting across from her. He looked behind her. He got Manny's attention and told him to follow along.

"What the hell is that?!" he yelled, pointing to nothing. When they turned around to look, Manny pushed them off the bench.

"Thank you." Frida said.

After dinner, the campers all sat around a large campfire telling ghost stories.

"Then suddenly the batteries in the flashlight went dead." Manny said in a spooky voice. "So they left the tent!"

"DON'T LEAVE THE TENT! DON'T LEAVE THE TENT!" The cactus kid cried.

"Oh yeah, Cactus boy, they left the tent. Then from out of the darkness came the-" Frida and Django jumped out of no where and growled loudly. All the campers screamed. Manny, Frida and Django laughed and high fived.

"Man, you should've seen the look on all of your faces!" Django said. Manny couldn't help by notice that Frida's growl sounded more like a lion than a kitten. As the other kids told their stories, the trio sat at the far end of the campfire and made s'mores. Manny looked up at the sky.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" he said. Frida looked as well.

"Yep." Manny looked at her and laughed. She had melted marshmallow and chocolate all over her face. She laughed too. When Django saw Frida's face, he laughed as well. When they all stopped, there was a moment of silence before they all burst out laughing twice as hard as before. When that laughing fit quieted down, Manny said, "You got alittle something right there." He tapped his cheek with his claw.

Frida licked her mouth with playful, fake seduction. She looked at them and laughed at their wide eyes. She took a napkin and really wiped off the chocolatey marshmallow. Suddenly, Sergio and Dr. Chipotle appear quite literally out of nowhere on either side of her…again.

"Hi, Frida!" They said.

She sighed. "Hello, you two."

Manny growled. "Hey, whatever the hell your names are, we were talking here!"

They looked at him angrily. "Dr. Chipotle! How hard is that?!" Dr. Chipotle said.

"And I am Senor Sienestro Jr.!" Sergio snapped.

"Okay, you know what?!" Frida yelled. "We're going to call you Diego because you remind me of this one dude at our school," she gestured to Dr. Chipotle. "And I know that silly accent anywhere, Sergio!"

Sergio's eyes widened. "How…? When….? What…?"

Frida rolled her eyes. "My dad's chief of police and my mom's a judge. You learn to pick up on these things."

Sergio turned to Dr. Chipotle. "She knows my accent." He said, dazed.

"She named me after myself." Diego said. Frida could see heart bubbles popping over their heads.

"Okay…. awkward." she said.

"Aren't campfires romantic?" Sergio asked. She saw his arm slowly but surely reach it's way around her. She growled threateningly and he quickly withdrew it.

"You know what sucks?" She asked.

"What?" Came four responses at once.

"When your craving but you don't know what you want and your faced with all these options and your like 'okay, I know I want something and I don't know what it is but I know it's not that.' That sucks."

"Yeah," Manny said, not even listening to what she said. Suddenly, her ears perked up and twitched from side to side and front to back. "I know what I'm craving now." And like lightning she did a backward summersault off the log and scampered off into the woods. Manny quickly got up and ran off after her, followed closely behind by Django. They soon came upon a lake. Acroos the lake, you could clearly see the lights of the hero camp. They saw Frida at the bank peering into the rapids. Carefully, she reached over it and then swiped at the water and pulled out a struggling fish.

"Wow." Manny said as they walked up behind her. She held the fish over her head, threw her head back, and lowered it into her mouth. She licked her claws, purring contently. When Manny tapped her on the shoulder, she spun around growling. The guys quickly took a step back and Manny noticed her eyes were much more cat-like than before. Her usual big, round pupils were now narrow slits, just like a cat's. She was crouched on the ground in a position that looked like she was ready to pounce. Manny held his hands up. "Whoa, now." He said calmly. "Nice kitty."

She must have recognized them because her eyes instantly went back to normal. She should up and laughed nervously. "Sorry," she said. "You surprised me."

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As they walked back to their cabins, Frida sighed. "I am really not looking forward to sharing a bunk bed with Cuervo."

"Ouch." Django said. "I'd offer for you to stay with us, but we share a cabin with that Sergio kid and that Dr. whatever the hell his name is."

"I wish you the best of luck with that." They stopped outside Frida's cabin.

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow." She said.

"Night, Kitten." Django said, and did something no one expected. He leaned over and kissed her cheek before walking away in the direction of his cabin. Frida instantly turned so red, she blended in with her outfit. She looked over at Manny. He was starring after Django with the look of death in his eyes. His fisted were tight and his teeth were clinched. She could actually hear him growling alittle bit.

"Uh…" she stuttered. "I…um… guess I'll… see you tomorrow." She turned to go inside the cabin.

"Hey, Frida."

She stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

Manny rubbed the back of his neck. "Um…I realize how weird this might sound, but…can I have a hug?" He opened his arms.

She looked at him confused. "Wha…?"

"I just…I…I think I need a hug. But not a bone-crushing one." He interrupted her. He put on the best sad, puppy-dog face he could muster.

Frida sighed. "C'mere, you." And she walked to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and put her head on his shoulder. It took him all he had to keep from purring, as he didn't want to make her feel awkward. Her hair was so soft and her scent was so sweet. Before to long, she released him and he reluctantly did the same. "Feel better?"

"Yes." He said. "Thank you. Good night."

"Nite nite." And she disappeared into the dark cabin. He walked to his own cabin and smiled. Sure enough, El Tigre had fallen in love with La Gatita.

Again.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

**Okay, I know exactly how I'm gonna start the next chapter…tomorrow! I'm tired as hell. **

**By the way, I'm almost done with my La Gatita sketches. With an insane amount of luck, I'll have them up by tomorrow…but, most likely not. **


	7. Cat fight

**Ever that the hardest part of writing is filling in the blanks? **

**WARNING: There is a BIG fight scene in this chapter that gets really bloody. Hence the chapter's name.**

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Manny sat in his chair, anxiously awaiting Frida's arrival to their distraction class. Django sat next to him.

"Chillax, she'll be here." He said, as thought reading Manny's mind. Then, speak of the she-devil, Frida burst into the room looking extremely aggravated. Her hair was dripping wet. Without a word, she sat down on the other side of the table.

"Geez, Kitten, what happened to you?" Django asked.

"Cuervo thought it would be a good idea to wake me up this morning by pouring cold water on my head." She put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand.

"Damn!" Manny said. "So what'd you do to her?" Just then, Black Cuervo walked in the room. Her arm was wrapped in a large bandage and her sleeve was ripped. The bandage was quite thick, however some blood had soaked through. Frida smirked.

"Thank you." Frida said, bowing. Cuervo sat down at a table across the room. She crossed her arms and flinched in pain when she accidentally hit her bandage. She glared angrily at Frida, who stared back, just as angry. When Frida saw that Cuervo was not about to let up on her death glare, she growled loudly. Cuervo was taken back by the growl, so with a final "Hmm!" she turned away. Frida sighed with victory and laid her head on the table. "Bitch." She muttered. "She _really _erks me."

Manny and Django exchanged glances. Yep, this was definitely going to be a long month. "Well, Kitten, might I suggest something?"

Frida lifted her head. "Say words."

"Get her back tonight when she's sleeping." Django said like it was obvious.

"Ooo," Frida said. "Those were good words." She scratched behind her ear. "I liked those words."

"So, how was it last night? There wasn't to big of a cat fight, was there?" Manny asked.

Frida rested her head on her hand again, eyes closed. "We kept our distances. Lucky for her I fell asleep, cuz I was about ready to sharpen my claws on her. The chica will not shut up!"

Just then, the instructor called for everyone's attention. As soon as he stopped talking, Frida was asleep again. For their first lesson, they were going to take turns coming up to the front in groups of two. While one person stood in front of a beanbag, the other person had to distract them and get it. When it was almost Manny and Frida's turn, he shook her. "Frida, wake up, sleepy kitty."

She opened one eye. "Why?"

"It's almost our turn."

Frida looked around her. When her gaze met the front of the room where Diego was distracting Sergio with a picture of her, she turned back to Manny. "Okay, so explain what we're doing?" And Manny explained.

"El Tigre and La Gatita." The instructor called. Manny hopped off the seat and walked to the front, followed by a less enthusiastic Frida. "La Gatita, if you would be so kind as to go first."

Frida sighed. Although she spent a lot of time asleep, she woke up rather fast and was already fully awake. She walked up to Manny, grabbed his hand and planted a big kiss on his cheek. He froze instantly again, and simply because she felt like it, Frida kick the back of knees, causing him to fall flat on his back. She casually stepped over him and took the beanbag.

"Very good!" the instructor said. "Nice use of taking him down." Frida smiled and helped Manny up. She caught Cuervo out of the corner of her eye. She was twitching with anger. It made Frida chuckle. Now it was Manny's turn. This was obviously not going to be as easy for him. He faced her trying to think of what would make a kitten look away.

"Look, a mouse!" he said, pointing under a table. She did nothing. "Damn." He muttered under his breath. Then a thought came to him. As hard as he could, he stomped his foot on the floor, creating quite a loud thud. Frida jumped at the sound and Manny took the opportunity to jump over her and grab the beanbag.

"Good," the instructor said. "You didn't really distract her though, but you did get the beanbag, so I guess that's okay."

Manny smile and he and Frida returned to their seats. Frida automatically laid her head down and went back to sleep.

oooooooooooooooooo

Manny, Frida and Django lay out under the sun in the soft grass. They had some free time before their holding a hostage activity and they choose to spend it laying in one of the fields. Manny had his hands behind his head and Frida's head resting on his stomach, Django resting his head on her's.

"I still can't believe she took you down so easily." Django said, his eyes closed.

"Aw, I let her do that." Manny said.

"Sure you did." Came Frida's response.

"Well, you caught me by surprise!"

"It's distraction. I don't think you're suppose to expect it."

"Well, if I had been ready-!"

"Oh yeah?" Frida flipped over, unintentionally knocking Django's head off, which she quickly caught with her tail and placed it back on his shoulders. "Sorry."

"That's okay, happens a lot." Django said straighten his hat and lay back down on Frida's back. She turned her attention back to Manny. "If you had been ready what?" she cooed and laid her cheek on his stomach, looking up at him.

Manny chuckled and scratched behind her, causing her to close her eyes and purr contently. "This is me distracting you," he said.

"Well done," she purred. Manny was happy that Frida choose to use him as a pillow, but was alittle miffed that Django was involved in the stomach-pillow chain. He continued to scratch her ear. Without thinking, he dragged his fingertips down her hair and cupped her cheek in his hand. She opened one eye to see what he was doing. She didn't mind, she was just a curious little kitty.

Realizing what he had done, Manny quickly thought and said in a baby-like voice, "Your so cute with your little ears!"

Frida smirked and purred in response. She then closed her eye again. Manny sighed with relief. Just then, Django looked at his watch. (Bare with me people) "Damn, we need to get going!" He got off of Frida.

"Grrrr!" she said, closing her eyes tighter. "Can a chica get a siesta?"

"Sure she can," Django said. "Later." He pulled her tail. "C'mon, Kitten, up, up, up!"

"Okay, quit pulling my tail." She slowly got off Manny and stretched.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

That night at dinner, Manny and Django sat with there food…Fridaless.

"Ever notice Frida's always the last one to show up?" Manny commented.

"Yep."

Just then, she came in and scurried to the table. "Hey, did I miss anything? No? Okay, guess what?"

"Hey, Kitten." Django said. "So, what's up?"

Frida sat down, literally shaking in her seat. She was obviously very excited or very hyped up on sugar. "A bunch of us are meeting tonight by the basketball court. You guys coming?"

"What's everyone doing?" Manny asked.

"Who cares? We're sneaking out after hours. I feel so devious." Frida said quickly. Yep, definitely a sugar rush. "But I think they said it was gonna be a big game of spin the bottle, or something like that." She took her glove off and licked the back of her hand. She then rubbed her ear with it.

'_God, can she get any cuter_?' Manny thought.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manny and Django snuck out of their cabin relatively easy, considering the fact that Sergio and Diego were also going. When they got there, they found Frida leaning against a basketball hoop and walked up to her. Her arms were crossed and she was looking at someone with a look that could kill.

"What'd she do this time?" Manny asked, already knowing whom the look of death was directed to.

"She really, _really _erks me." Frida said through her teeth. "I wanna do bad things to her."

"Oh, can I help?" Django said. Manny looked at him.

"What'd Cuervo do to you?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, I don't even know the chica. But I enjoy doing bad things." He chuckled.

Frida clapped, then said to Manny, "I like his words."

"Hey, I don't like Cuervo either!" Manny said.

"Well then, would you care to join us in doing bad things?" Frida asked.

"My pleasure." He said. One of the kids called for everyone to sit in a circle. The trio sat with Frida in the middle and the guys on either side of her. The first kid to go was the Che. He spun the bottle and it landed on a one of the girls from Cuervo's lunch table. She seemed very reluctant, most likely due to Che's super bad, zombie breath. After they kissed, the girl looked nauseated. She took the bottle in a shaking hand and spun it weakly. It landed on Django.

"C'mon, that was hardly a spin!" He protested. But after being overruled by all of the campers, he gave the girl a quick peck before sitting back down. He spun the bottle as he wiped his lips off.

'_Please don't land on Frida, please don't land on Frida_!' Manny thought.

But it did.

Django smirked. Manny almost had a heart attack. Frida shrugged and turn to her left.

And kissed Django.

If Django hadn't already been dead, Manny would've killed him. Loud whooping came from the crowd. Frida broke away from Django and spun the bottle herself. Manny thought that if he had to see Frida kiss another guy that wasn't him, he'd lose it.

But the bottle did land on him.

His stomach was set on fire as he mind took a moment to realize that it was in fact pointing to him. He instantly lit up and turned to Frida almost to eagerly. She sighed and turned to him. She seemed like she wasn't feeling the least awkward about kissing her two amigos.

And just a casually as possible, he leaned forward and kissed her. His insides burst into flames. He wanted to something else. Wrap his arms around her, at least put his hand on her cheek. But he didn't. He could hear the crowd whooping again. And all to soon, Frida pulled away from him. It then registered to him that he had to spin the bottle now. Which meant he'd have to kiss someone else. Which he did not want to do. He looked around the circle. His eyes met Cuervo, who was turning red with rage.

"Whore!" she said. The crowd "Ooooohh!"ed. Django gasped.

Manny looked back at Frida. Her ears perked up, and her expression instantly changed to that of a wild cat ready to attack. "Excuse me?!" she yelled. "You wanna say that to my face?!"

"You. Whore!" Cuervo yelled. Whispering arose from the crowd.

"Oh, hell, no!" Frida was on her feet. Manny and Django shot up behind her. Django put his hand on her shoulder.

"Easy, Kitten."

Frida shook his hand out. "Don't you 'easy kitten' me!" she spat before turning her attention back to Cuervo, who was also now on her feet. Manny saw the same wild cat look in her eyes that he had seen the night before.

"You wanna go?!" Cuervo yelled.

"Bring it on, bitch!" Frida said. The crowd was now on their feet as well, chanting "Fight, fight, fight!" Some of them were chanting "Frida! Frida!" and others were chanting "Cuervo! Cuervo!", but not nearly as many. The circle had gotten a lot bigger to allow the two girls more space.

Manny was biting his nails with anxiety. He knew Cuervo was good. He had fought her before. And he knew Frida was really powerful, but she hadn't exactly been in a lot of one-on-one fights. (Unless you count that day's combat training, but she had been fighting Manny, and they pretty much just played around the whole time.) Manny looked to Django. He was one of the one's chanting, "Frida! Frida!" Before long, Manny joined in the chant as well.

Frida and Cuervo were circling each other. Frida was low to the ground in an attack stance. Claws flexed and fangs bared, she growled loudly. Cuervo was the first to attack. She shot at Frida with her laser. Frida quickly did a backbend to dodge it and arose from it just as easily, dodging another laser as she so.

"Cool!" Frida said. "How'd I do that?"

Angrier now, Cuervo shot another laser at her. She did a split and went right over her, Manny and Django jumping out of the way. "Ha!" Frida yelled. "Can't touch this!" Abandoning her weapon, Cuervo pounced at Frida.

"Looks like they're gonna do this the good ol' fashion way." Django muttered to Manny.

"Man, Cuervo's gonna die…" And they both resumed their chanting.

Frida was ready with open claws when Cuervo came at her. She slashed her a good few times before punching her and sending her flying. She landed a good few yards away. She didn't with time to get up before Frida pounced on her, punching and scratching like crazy. It was definitely a losing battle for Cuervo, and everyone knew it. The few people who were originally chanting for her were now yelling for her to retreat. By now, she was to beat up to continue fighting, and she couldn't get Frida off of her.

And Frida it didn't look like Frida was going to let up either. She raised her claws for what looked like the final strike. She held them there, growling and looking down on Cuervo, bruised and bloody.

"Do it!" Cuervo demanded.

Frida's hand relaxed. "You're not worth it." She growled and got off of her. "Feel free to resume your game." She said to no one in particular as she walked away, flicking Cuervo's blood off her claws. Manny looked at Django as a few girls ran up to Cuervo and tried to help her, only to be shot off with a "I'm fine!"

"You should follow her." Django said. Manny smiled and nodded before running off after Frida.

**………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**

**Oh, I loved writing that scene! I'm not exactly the biggest Black Cuervo fan in town. I apologize to any fans she may have reading this…but I don't like her**.

**I'll have you know I stayed up till 3:00am writing this. I was gonna make it longer by putting in the next scene, but it'll have to wait for the next chapter. I just wanted to upload before I went to bed.**


	8. Bad Dream

**Yay, This scene had been marinating in my head for some time now.**

**WARNING…AGAIN: This chapter also has some blood in it and later there's a scene that seems alittle (cough, cough) but I think if you're at least thirteen (which you should be to be on this site, not that I'm a big rule follower) you can handle it. **

…………………………………………………………………………………**.**

It wasn't hard finding Frida. She left a trail of blood and every tree in her path was covered in scratch marks. Manny ran through the woods as fast as he could, the scent of blood burning his nose. Man, for a kitten, she sure could do some damage. Before long, he came to a small clearing. Near the edge of the forest, he saw Frida, on her hands and knees, her back towards him. Him heard sounds that made his stomach hurt, like bones breaking or something being ripped limb from limb. Cautiously, he approached her. As he got closer, the sounds got louder. Frida's hair was ruffled and messy and she looked like she was tearing something with her teeth.

"Frida?" Manny asked slowly. Her ears perked up and she whipped her head around. Manny gasped. Her face was covered in blood and Manny saw before her a pile of feathers and small bones. Her eyes were narrow cat-like slits again. When she saw him, she spun around, still crouching, her ears went back on her head, and she hissed, claws flexed. Manny jumped back. "Niiiice kitty." He said. She bared her fangs as she hissed again. The last thing Manny wanted to do was fight her, but he could tell she was ready to strike. Slowly, he took a careful step forward. Without hesitation, Frida lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. He was on his back and, like Cuervo, didn't have time to do anything before Frida was on top of him. He caught her wrist in his hands as she tried to bring her claws down on him. He struggled to keep her from clawing him to death. As she tried to break her wrists out of his grip, some blood that was on her mouth dripped down on Manny's face. He whipped her back with his tail just hard enough to distract her. He then flipped her over so he was now the one on top of her, and pinned her wrists to the ground, which she did not like one bit.

"Frida!" he yelled as she struggled against him. "Look at me!" She was very strong and Manny had a hard time pinning her down. "It's me! Its Manny! Don't you remember me?"

Frida instantly stopped struggling. "Manny?" she asked in a weak voice, but her eyes didn't change.

Manny smiled slightly. "Yes." Frida gently pulled her right wrist from his grip. He let it go, thinking he had his Frida back. She gently put her hand on the side of his face and rubbed his cheek with her thumb. But before he knew it, she swiped at his face and kicked him off her. After landing quite painfully on his side, he put his hand on his cheek and looked at it. His glove was soaked in his own blood. He looked at Frida, who was on her hands and knees, her head hanging down, breathing heavily, her eyes closed. It confused Manny. She couldn't possibly be worn out! She sank to the ground and put her hands on her head, and started whimpering. Like she was in pain. She rolled over on her back and Manny saw that tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Frida?" Manny crawled over to her and reached out his hand. She growled and swiped at him again, and he quickly backed off. Her tears started coming harder, yet he couldn't hear any crying. Only her continuing whimpering. She lay flat on her back staring at the night sky, breathing fast and uneven. Manny watched, mortified that there was nothing he could do. Suddenly, she jumped up and looked over her shoulder at him. She growled and stared at him with the same killing look she gave Cuervo. But she didn't attack. She looked away from him, closed her eyes and put her hand on her face. Manny could tell she was contemplating something. She glanced back at him through her fingers and he saw the rage build up in her again. She turned to him and he braced himself for another attack. But it never came. Instead, Frida threw her arms around herself and dug her claws into her back. She looked like she was fighting herself.

She was fighting her instincts.

Manny instantly jumped up, came up behind Frida, and grabbed her arms, restraining her. She struggled against him, reaching behind her to try and claw him off. When she found reaching him impossible, she brought her claws back to her own body instead, digging them into her lower back. Manny saw this and quickly grabbed her wrists again and wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from moving as much as he could. She pulled away from him, but he had a very tight hold on her that she couldn't break. She even tried kicking and throwing her head back, which did result in giving him a bloody nose. But he never even loosened his grip. Finally, she stopped struggling and just stood there, breathing fast. Manny slowly let go of her wrists, but kept his arms around her. When she did nothing, he slowly released her and then quickly took two big steps back. She turned around and stared at him. He saw tears in her eyes again, but they were still cat-like.

"Frida," Manny tried again. "Can you hear me?" She nodded slowly. "Are you okay?" She shook her head. It was only then that he noticed that she wasn't standing up straight. Her posture was weak, her tail hanging limply behind her, her ears laying back flat on her head, her legs looked like they were going to give out on her any second, and she was dripping in blood. He looked her in the eyes. They were back to normal. They slowly closed, her knees gave in, and she fell forward. Manny was under her in a second and caught her. He looked at her body. Her shirt was ripped and her shoulders and back were bleeding severely. Leaning her torso against his chest, he put her arms around his shoulders and slid his arms under her knees and around her waist and carried her back to the camp.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Frida slowly came back into consciousness, however she kept her eyes closed, still to tired to open them. That nights events were hazy and she only remembered little bits of it. The fight with Cuervo. Wanting to kill her. Realizing she was about to. Knowing she had to get away before she did. Running. Attacking someone. Not wanting to hurt them. Fighting. Manny. The rest was a blur. The first thing she realized was that she was lying on her stomach. She heard voices.

"Manny, are you crazy?" One of them said. Frida recognized that voice. "When she wakes up, she'll kill us all!"

"What's it to you? You're already dead! It's in your name, for God's sake!" She knew that voice too. Manny.

"Manny," she tried to say, but it came out a whisper. The next thing she realized was how much pain she was in. The voices stopped.

"I'm here, Frida." The voice came from right next to her ear. She was slowly regaining her ability to think. She felt a sudden sharp stinging on her back. That's when she realized that her shirt was off and her bra was unhooked and that there was a blanket that was pulled up to her hips. She hissed at the stinging. Along with the stinging, someone was rubbing her back.

"I can't believe you took her shirt off." Django said. "What if someone were to walk in here right now! Do you know how wrong this all looks?"

Manny sighed. "I don't care. Look at her. I had to do _something_."

Frida heard footsteps. Like someone was pacing. "Oh God, when she wakes up…"

"Will you relax?!" Manny snapped. Frida was trying desperately to put all the pieces together in her head. Slowly, she opened her eyes and was instantly flooded by light. It wasn't a bright light but it was enough to make her squint. Her vision was blurry and her eyes were crusty, like she had been crying. She saw a haze of brown and determined she must be in one of the cabins and the source of the dim light must have been from a lamp on the table. Her seeing slowly came into focus and she looked around, not daring to move so she settled for her immediate line of vision. She saw Django anxiously pacing up and down between the bunk beds. She saw that she was on the bottom bunk of one of them. She glanced down at her shoulder and was horrified to see a large gash. But it looked like someone had rubbed ointment on it or some other medical fixer-upper. She looked across to the other bunk bed and saw Diego and Sergio sitting on the top bunk, not daring to speak, but still slightly giddy about Frida being shirtless in the same room as them. She felt a hand on her back again, along with coldness and more stinging. She tensed.

"Manny, I don't think you comprehend how much danger we are all in. She's gonna be so pissed when she wakes up and-!"

"Django, for the last time, get a hold of yourself!" Manny shouted. His voice came from behind her.

That's when Frida was able to put the pieces together. Manny was sitting on the bed next to her, rubbing something on her back while the others watched and Django was flipping out about the fact that he thought she'd kill them when she woke up. Why on Earth would he think that? She had her eyes set on no where in particular. Just staring into space as she listened.

"Uh…guys!" Diego said in a shaky voice.

"What?!" Both Manny and Django yelled. Diego extended a shaking finger to Frida. They looked at her and saw her eyes were open. They froze and she could sense that they were panicking She didn't make eye contact with any of them. She simply continued to stare into space.

"Could you keep it down?" she said quietly before closing her eyes and falling asleep once more.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Frida awoke several hours later in a daze. When she remembered what had happened, shot up and looked around. It was morning and everyone else had already left the cabin. She quickly got up, got dressed and ran out to find Manny. She didn't even care about her throbbing wounds that protested against her every move. She ran to the cafeteria and burst in, looking every where for her friend. When the people saw her, they looked frightened. She wondered why, but soon totally forgot about it when she saw Django.

"Django!" She said, running up to him.

When he saw her, he seemed uncomfortable. "Oh, uh…hey."

"Where's Manny?"

Django rocked awkwardly on his feet. "I think he's by the lake, but I wouldn't go looking for him if I were you, Kitten."

Frida was about to spring out the door, but stopped. "Why?"

"I..I don't think…he's, um…in the best mood to see you."

"I don't care." She ran out the door and went straight to the lake. She saw Manny sitting on a rock with his face buried in his hands. "Manny!" She called to him. He looked up and saw her. He expression went from neutral and angry. "Manny, what's wrong?"

He got up. "Oh, nothing's wrong. Unless you count that last night, my _ex _best friend tried to _kill_ me!" he shouted.

Frida froze. "What?"

"Yeah, _Kitten._ Wanna see my new scar?" He lifted his mask, showing a large scar over his right eye. "Hey, on the bright side, now they match!" He yelled, gesturing to the scar over his right eye that had always been there. Frida was to stunned to speak. Her ears went back on her head again.

"Manny…" She reached out toward him, wanting to hug him, but he slapped her hands away.

"Get away from me, you…you monster." He turned his back on her. "You think you know a girl…I hate you." He said before walking away. Tears formed in Frida's eyes. She reached up and wiped them away. She looked at the teardrops on her glove, and all her pain suddenly turned to anger. Lots of it. She felt her claws grow and her teeth become sharper, her eyes turning cat-like again. She ran off after Manny. When she got sight of him again, he was with Cuervo. They were holding hands. Frida walked up to them, not even bothering to sneak.

"What do _you_ want?!" Cuervo spat.

"I didn't come here to deal with you." And with one swift swipe of her claws, Cuervo fell to the ground.

Manny looked at her lifeless body, tears coming to his eyes. "You…BITCH!" he yelled, and swiped at Frida. It totally missed her, and she grabbed him by the throat with her claws and backed him up against a tree.

Gasping for air, he said, "Do it! Finish the job, Gatita!" And she sank her fangs into his throat.

…………

Frida woke up, gasping. It was only a dream. Thank God. She looked around her. She had no idea where she was. She was so disorientated, she didn't know what to do. It was a lot darker now. She saw the same bunk beds, except Django was asleep on the bottom, fully dressed and on top of the blankets, like he had just lain down and fell asleep. And Sergio and Diego were asleep on the top, one of them at the head and the other at the foot. She came to the conclusion that she was still in the boy's cabin. She went to feel her back and discovered that her hands were tied together, her gloves and wrist bands on the table next to the bed. She pulled them apart and the rope snapped rather easily. She felt that her bra had been rehooked. She thought she should leave, it being a boys cabin, but she didn't know where to go. She couldn't go back to her cabin, having almost killed Cuervo. She kicked the blanket off her legs, discovering that her boots had been taken off, too. It then clicked that there was a hand on her back. She looked to other side and saw Manny asleep next to her. He also looked like he had just lain down and falling asleep. Seeing him brought back the memory of her dream. She wanted to snuggle up to him, but she didn't want to wake him. She wanted him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right. She put her hands on her pillow, palms down, and buried her face in them and just cried. She tried to be as silent as possible, but the memory of her dream and what Manny had said made it hard to keep quiet. Suddenly, she felt the hand on her back come up to her head and stroke her hair. She looked at Manny and was overjoyed to see him smiling at her, but it didn't stop her crying.

"Hey," Manny said softly. "You okay?" Unable to do anything else, she scooted over to him and snuggled up against him, burying her face in his chest as she cried. He wrapped his arms around her, careful of her back and shoulders, and held her tightly to him, neither of them caring that she was just in her bra. "Shhh," he cooed. "I'm here. It's okay. Nothing bad's gonna happen to you."

"That's not what I'm upset about." She whispered in a quivering voice. He looked down at her.

"Frida," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

"I had a bad dream." She looked up at him, her eyes still wet with tears. "Manny, tell me the truth. Did I hurt you?"

He smirked. "Well, that depends on what you mean by-"

"Did. I. Do. Anything?!" she whispered firmly. He lifted his mask, reveling a large cut. She buried her face in his chest again, and resumed crying.

"Hey, nothing to get all worked up about." Manny said, pulling his mask down again and stroking her hair. But her crying continued. "What exactly happened in your dream?"

Frida sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I was looking for you. Everyone who saw me got scared and Django said that you didn't want to see me." She wiped her eyes again before continuing. "When I finally found you, you got really angry and when I asked you what was wrong, you said that your _ex _best friend tried to kill you. I was mortified and I reached out to you and you slapped my hand away saying 'Get away from me, you monster!'" Frida stopped. Manny hugged her tighter. "Then you said 'You think you know a girl.' And that you hated me." She wiped her eyes again. "And you walked away. I started crying and then I just got so mad. I followed you and you were holding hands with Cuervo."

"Yikes!" Manny said.

"Tell me about it. Anyway, she snapped at me with a 'What do _you_ want?' And I said 'I didn't come here to deal with you. Then I…I _killed_ her. Then _you_ started crying and attacked me. I grabbed you by the throat with my claws and you said 'Do it! Finish the job, Gatita!'…." The tears came again. "So I did."

She once again buried her face in his chest and cried. Manny held her tighter still, continuing to stroke her hair.

"Well, that was just a really bad dream." He said. "Now I wanna smack the Manny from that dream." Her crying let up alittle bit. "I could _never_ hate you." he whispered. "You should get some sleep now."

"Mmm-hmm." She muttered, eyes already closed. But before she fell asleep in Manny's arms, she thought something.

'_Oh my God_.' She thought. _'I'm in love with Manny._'

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**Yaaaay! I like this chapter! Poor Frida. Luckily she always has her best friend. **

**Btw, with the sketches, I still have to finish Django's body and we have to use our neighbors scanner so that might be an issue. I'll let you know when they're up! **


	9. Don't you, Zoe?

**I thought about this all day! **

**The last chapter made me think of that song 'Animal I have become.' Did anyone else think of that? It goes perfectly!**

**I couldn't decide between calling this chapter 'Dammit, Django!' or 'Don't you, Zoe?' I like both names. **

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It was still the wee hours of the morning when Frida woke up. She felt something warm against her and snuggled up to it, feeling that it must have been wrapped around her. She had forgotten where she was, and she was too tired to care. After lying there for some time, she thought she should probably at least figure out what time it was. She opened her eyes and saw darkness. She must have woken up very early. She sighed, wanting to go back to sleep. She lifted her head and glanced behind her at the digital clock on the bedside table. It read 6:03. Damn. She didn't have to get up until 7:45. She lay down again and closed her eyes. But they soon shot open again. Wait a minute. She had the top bunk. How could she see the clock right next to her? She looked around the room. Where the hell was she? Suddenly, the warm thing wrapped around her waist got tighter. She looked back at it. It was Manny, still sound asleep.

She panicked. What the hell happened last night that got her here? She tried to remember, but everything was fuzzy. Although she couldn't remember what had happened, she knew she should figure out what to do now. She looked at her situation. She was lying in bed with Manny…and her _shirt_ was off?! How the hell…?

Then she remembered. She remembered the fight, she remembered Manny tending to her back, she remembered the awful dream, and she remembered waking up crying and Manny holding her…

She snuggled up to him again. Maybe she should just lie here and wait for him to wake up. No, she couldn't do that. He'd probably be just as confused as she was. And what if one of the other guys woke up first? She acted crazy a lot, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that pretty much every guy in that cabin was basically in love with her. Which put her in a really awkward position… literally. She decided that she should leave. But where would she go? She'd figure something out. Slowly and careful not to wake him, she wiggled out of Manny's arms and sat up on the bed. But as soon as she did, she wished she didn't. Screw the other guys! So what if they woke up first? But it was too late now. It's not like she could re-snuggle herself to him. That'd wake him up for sure. She sighed and got dressed. She was sitting on the bed with her bandaged back to Manny and as she snapped her wristbands on, Manny rolled over behind her and wrapped his arm around her hips. She quickly looked behind her and was relieved to see that he was still asleep. It was probably a reflex. After putting her boots back on, she gently pried Manny's arm off of her and put a pillow in her place. She looked at him one last time, and then darted to the door. But she stopped when she heard him gently mutter "Frida…" in his sleep. She walked back to his bed, gave him a light kiss on the cheek, and then left.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The feeling of movement woke Manny. He slowly opened one eye and saw that Frida was snuggling closer to him in her sleep and that it was still dark out. He smiled. He heard her sigh, and then lift her head to glance behind her, probably at the clock. She laid her head back down, but he soon felt her tense. She looked around the room. Manny thought that perhaps she didn't remember what had happened. He tightened his hold on her. When she looked at him, he quickly closed his eyes, pretending to still be asleep. He felt her tense even more when she saw him, but after a moment, she relaxed and snuggled up to him again. He felt so at ease with everything to have her lying in his arms. He smiled to himself. But suddenly, she wiggled out of his arms. It made him feel slightly empty inside to lose her warm contact. She sat on the bed for a moment, Manny secretly watching her out of one slightly opened eye. She sighed and got dressed. Manny suddenly found himself desperately searching for a way to make her stay. Should he let her know he was awake? What would happen if he did? She sat in front of him with her back to him as she snapped her wristbands on and Manny knew that she would leave when she was done. Out of desperation and lack of ability to think of anything else, he rolled over and, careful not to touch her bandages, wrapped his arm around her hips. She looked behind her and Manny pretended to be asleep again. She put her boots back on and then gently pried his arm off of her and replaced herself with a pillow. To make his sleep act look more real, he hugged the pillow tightly. Then he heard her slowly open the door. Doing the first thing that came to mind, he gently muttered "Frida…" once again pretended to be asleep. He heard her stop and then footsteps. Then his mind melted when he felt a pair of soft lips lightly press against his cheek. And then she was gone. As soon as she left, he sat up. She kissed him on the cheek again. He felt the sparks in his stomach again. He was wrapped up in a ribbon of happiness and love. And then the thought struck him.

What _did_ she remember?

Did she remember the fight or running away? Did she remember attacking him or waking up crying and him holding her in his arms? Did she remember her dream or that it was _just_ a dream?

Oh God, what if she had forgotten that it was just a dream? What if at this very moment, she was after Cuervo? What if she was in her wild cat state?

The possibilities were endless. But if she was after Cuervo or in her wild cat state, then Manny had to go after her. He jumped up. But on the other hand, what if she left because she was mortified that she had slept in the same bed as him? What if she was angry? But if she was, then why did she kiss him just now? So many questions were rattling around in his head, but he decided that he should go after her anyway, no matter what the circumstances. He quietly exited the cabin and ran in the direction of her sweet scent. He had to hand it to Frida, she sure could move fast. She had left less than a few seconds ago and she was already past the basketball court. He found her sitting down by the lake, looking over the water. He tried to quietly approach her, but her ears flicked in his direction and he knew she knew he was there.

"Hey." He said quietly.

"Hey."

He walked up to her and sat next to her. She didn't look at him, but he could still she her eyes and was relieved to see big round pupils instead of narrow slits. "So, how's your back?"

She gestured to the pile of bandages lying not far away from where they were sitting. He felt stupid for not noticing that her exposed lower back was bandageless and…healed?

"How did it heal so fast?"

"You won't get any answers asking me."

They sat in a slightly uncomfortable silence. Frida continued staring at the water, not even glancing at him once. He, on the other hand, couldn't stop glancing at her. "So," he said. "Whatcha staring at?"

She chuckled. "I'm a cat. We can stare at nothing for hours." They shared a laugh. It was short lived though, for the awkward silence soon fell upon them once more.

Manny rubbed the back of his neck. "So…." He looked over at her again and stopped talking. She was looking at him. He saw something in her eyes that he had never seen before. And he didn't know why, but it made him want to kiss her. Without realizing it, he leaned forward slightly. He was shocked, but not complaining, to see her lean forward slightly as well. They continued leaning in until they were mere centimeters away. It made Manny think about the picture of the Original El Tigre and La Gatita, except in that picture, Migual was holding Rida up so her feet didn't touch the ground. Manny and Frida's lips were almost together, but Frida's ears suddenly perked up and twitched, and she immediately pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Manny whispered. Just then, Django walked through the bushes.

"Good morning, kitties!" he said cheerfully. "How's your back, Kitten?"

"It's healed." She pointed to the pile of bandages.

"Oh yeah, the super-fast healing ability. Rida told me about that once." Django stretched. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"

'_Dammit, Django!'_ Manny thought.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was the late afternoon and everyone had completed their activities for the day. Later on that night, El Oso said that they'd go on a midnight field trip to toilet paper the hero's camp. In the mean time, the campers decided to keep themselves occupied by playing a game of volleyball. Frida had to go to her cabin to get the bug spray (as she was the other person who thought to bring some), so she told her friends she would meet them at the court, and ran off.

She was digging through her suitcase when she heard the door open. She looked and was angered to see Cuervo glaring at her from the doorway. She turned her back to her.

"Why didn't you do it?" Cuervo demanded.

Without looking at her, Frida said, "I told you, you're not worth it."

"I think it's because you're to _weak_ to do it!"

Frida turned to her. "Cuervo, are you trying to provoke me or something?"

"Yes." She said. "I demand a _rematch_!"

"Not gonna happen, honey." Frida found the bug spray and jumped off the top bunk.

"I _knew_ you were to weak." Frida walked past her without so much as a second glance. "Don't you walk away from me!"

Frida was almost out the door, but she stopped and looked at Cuervo. "Cuervo, why would you even want a rematch? I mean, look at you! Your still too cut up from our last spat to function properly. The other night, I could've killed you if I wanted to." She opened the door again, but before walking out, she added. "And you know it. Don't you, Zoe?"

………………………………………………………………………………**..**

**Ooooo! Frida knows it's Zoe! Dun dun dun! This is gonna be fun!**


	10. Please don't tell Manny!

**Dun dun dun!**

…

**Shocking. I can not think of a single thing to say. **

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Zoe remained standing and starring in shock even after Frida was gone. _No one_ knew her secret identity. No one did until now, anyway. She panicked. What should she do? What was _Frida_ going to do? Was she going to tell anyone? What was she doing now? She was probably going back to Manny.

…

She was going to tell Manny!

Zoe almost stopped breathing as she realized that if Frida told _anyone_, it would be Manny. As she thought this, she lost it. She began hyperventilating, and looked around her, desperately trying to think of what to do. Coming up with nothing effective, she ran out the door after Frida. She found her walking in the direction of the volleyball court. Trying to hide her anxiety, she stopped and fixed herself up and crossed her arms before catching up with her.

"So," she said in the best 'I don't care' voice she could produce. "You figured out my secret identity. So what?"

Frida smirked, keeping her eyes straight forward. "You're panicking on the inside. I can sense it."

Frida looked to her right and was slightly shocked to see Zoe on her knees, hands folded under her chin.

"PLEASE DON'T TELL ANYONE!" she pleaded. "Especially Manny. _Pleeeaaaaasssee_ don't tell him!" Frida looked around them, as if not wanting to be seen. There was no one there.

"Cuervo, get up before you rip your stockings." She said. Cuervo looked like she was on the verge of tears. Just them, Frida's ears perked up. Manny walked through the trees.

"Whoa." His said upon seeing Cuervo on her knees before Frida. Frida looked at Manny, and then at Zoe, who was staring at her with big, pleading eyes. She looked between the two of them several times. "I…uh…" Manny stuttered. "I'm just…gonna…y-you know...um…go…uh…back to the…um." He gestured behind himself in the direction of the court, slowly taking a few steps backward. "Yeah." And he turned and walked away rather fast.

Not even ten steps away, he literally ran into Django, having been glancing over his shoulder and not watching where he was going. "Uh, Manny." Django said, confused. "I thought we were going to meet Kitten at-"

Manny laughed nervously and took Django by the shoulders, turning him around and pushing him back to the court. "Yeah, this way."

ooo

Frida didn't say anything, and it made Zoe start to get anxious. "Well? What are you gonna do? Are you gonna tell anyone?"

Frida smirked again. "Call it blackmail." She started walking again.

Zoe was confused. "Well…what do you want me to do?"

"Oh, I'm saving this one." Frida said, and walked away, leaving a very confused, very panicking Cuervo.

When Frida got to the volleyball court, she passed the bug spray around and went to find Manny and Django.

"Hey, guys." She said happily when she found them. She seemed too smug to have just been in the presents of Cuervo.

"Geez, Kitten," Django said. "A bit late to be dipping into the catnip, isn't it?"

"Hey, Frida," Manny said. "Um…what was with-?"

"Eh, nothing." Frida interrupted, and big smirk on her face.

"No, I know that look. That's your devious face!" Django pointed out.

She chuckled as they were called to start the game. The teams were Manny, Frida, Django, Che, Sergio and Diego. Cuervo was on the opposing team and Manny noticed that she was watching Frida like a hawk. Normally, he would think this to be normal, except this time, she didn't look mad, angry, full of hate or anything like that. She looked scared.

Frida breathed deeply as she bent her knees in a ready position, Cuervo right on the other side of the net. When the cactus kid served it, Django bumped it, Manny set it, and then Frida spiked it right down in Cuervo's face. It hit her and knocked her to the ground.

"How 'bout them apples?" Frida said.

The other team gasped and went to help her, while Frida's team giggled and gave her high fives. They expected Cuervo to jump up and have some smart-ass comment for Frida, but instead, she laughed nervously.

"Hey, Kitten," Django said. "What'd you do to her to make her act so weird?"

Frida grinned and shrugged. "Eh."

Meanwhile, back in Manny's head, he was very anxious to know what Frida had done to Cuervo. He was dying for the game to end so he could ask her. The game seemed to forever, but when it finally did end, their team had won quite easily, mainly duo to an uneasy Cuervo and a particularly aggressive Frida. When they all lined up for the bus, Manny noticed that Cuervo was sticking unusually close to Frida while still trying to be inconspicuous about it. She was failing miserably because she kept glancing at Frida with the same scared look and when Frida made eye contact with her, it turn to pleading. As Manny, Frida and Django took their seats in the back of the bus, Cuervo took a seat not too far away. Manny and Django turned to Frida, who still had the same smug expression.

"Seriously, Frida," Manny whispered so Cuervo wouldn't hear. "What did you do? She won't stop watching you!"

"Yeah, Kitten."

Frida giggled. "Let's just say knowledge is power." She looked out the window at the moon. She loved going on nighttime drives.

"Oh, so you know something?" Django asked. Frida chuckled.

"I know _everything_." She teased. Obviously, she wasn't going to share her knowledge with them, so they dropped it. Manny had a few things he wanted to talk to Frida about, but unfortunately for him, the ride to the hero camp wasn't long. All they had to do was go around the lake. But he tried his luck.

"Hey, Frida?" he asked. She was leaning back in her seat with her legs resting on the seat back in front of her. She turned her head to him and he saw her eyes glow in the darkened bus, the little light from the moon reflecting off of them.

"Yeah?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I meant to ask you…um…about last night…what do you remember?"

She turned back to the window. "Well, I didn't remember anything when I first woke up." She paused and them chuckled. "And I had no idea what happened so it scared the hell out of me waking up in your arms, shirtless."

Manny blushed like crazy. He laughed nervously. "Yeah, well…um…."

"Was taking my shirt off really necessary?"

Before Manny could answer, El Oso called everyone's attention.

"Okay, mans, they obviously have no idea we're coming so be very quite. On your way off the bus, grab as much toilet paper as you can carry. If you're caught, knock out whoever it is and draw a mustache on their face." The campers giggled. "We'll all meet back at the bus when everyone runs out of toilet paper." They parked outside the gate to the camp. Like the villains camp, it looked nothing like heroes camp from the outside. It looked like military camp. Frida couldn't help but laugh, as it reminded her of the police camp she was supposed to be at. She remembered her sisters' complaining when they had gotten home from their first summer there, saying that they were worked to death. El Oso motioned for everyone to get out and grab some ammo. Frida and Manny used their grappling claws to get some of the kids over the gate, others getting over themselves. Once everyone was over, they dispersed into all directions. Manny, Frida and Django went to the far side of the camp, looking for the most vulnerable looking cabin. As they went, Frida kept peeking into all of the cabins, trying to see if there was anyone they knew.

"Kitten, your gonna get caught!" Django whispered. "It's so dark, how can you see at all in there?"

Frida looked at them and pointed to her eyes, which were glowing with light again. "Kitty vision! And I'm not gonna get caught! Everyone's fast asleep."

They found a cabin that was right next to the main hall and choose it as their victim cabin. They established that Django would toss in over the roof as Manny and Frida wrapped it around. When they were done, the stepped back to admire their work. Who ever was inside that cabin would have a big surprise when they woke up. Frida had managed to spread it out evenly to the point where there was not an inch of window that could be seen through. They walked back to the bus, seeing that others were finishing up as well. Outside the gate, El Oso had brought spray paint cans so they could graffiti their names on the gate. Everyone had a hell of a time with that. Frida had written her name the biggest, 'La Gatita' taking up most of the space. Manny sighed 'El Tigre' under it, and when Frida had her back turned, wrote 'Tigre+Gatita 4ever' in a big heart.

Once back on the bus and safely away from the enemy camp, El Oso congratulated everyone on a job well done.

"Manny," Frida said after everyone had gone back to talking amongst themselves. He looked at her. She was in the same position as before and was staring out the window again.

"Hmm?"

"You never answered my question."

Manny blushed again and pulled on his bandana, suddenly feeling very sweaty. "Oh, well…I…um…" What was he supposed to say? 'Yes, as a matter of fact, I felt that taking your shirt off was absolutely necessary, even though the damaged area was perfectly accessible without doing so.' She knew him better than that. He saw the corner of her mouth pulled upward in an amused smile. He was suddenly overwhelmed once again by the random, burning desire to kiss her. But right now was obviously not the best time to try. "Uhhhhhh…..I just wanted to make sure you were…uh…properly taken care of and that all your injuries were tended to. You've done the same for me more than once before." He pointed out. Wow…that was actually a really good response.

Frida must have thought so too, because she 'Hmm.'ed and nodded, accepting his answer. He sighed in relief and leaned back in his seat. Then he felt something on his shoulder. He looked and saw Frida resting her head on him. Her face was expressionless and she was still staring out the window at the moon. Slowly, as if testing the water, Manny leaned his head on hers.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"For what?"

"For last night." She moved closer to him.

Manny smiled against her hair and wrapped an arm around her, hugging her. "Anytime."

She smiled. "And I'm going to hold you to that, just so you know."

"To what?" he asked, confused.

Frida paused. "You said you could never hate me."

Manny smiled, remembering. "Well, you can hold me to that as long as you want, because that will never change."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………**.**

**I am actually really pleased with this chapter. It turned out a lot better than I thought it would.**

**Btw, I'm done with the La Gatita sketches! Now, all I have to do is get my mits on a scanner. And that is the hardest part. **


	11. I'm in love with you

**Good news! My sketches are up! Yay! Took me long enough, I know. But they're up! So if you wanna check 'em out, go to the site below and Frida as La Gatita is right there on my page. **

**http : / / cicilicious. deviantart. com**

**Remove all spaces.**

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Manny was woken up by the sound of footsteps on the roof. On the other side of the screen window, he saw the outline of Frida jump down off the roof and run into the woods. Then he heard explosions.

"What the…?" he said, jumping out of bed and running out the door. In the night sky, he saw two trails of smoke that lead in the direction Frida had just run off in. He heard more explosions. He was amazed that the loud noises hadn't woken anyone else. He took off into the woods after Frida. He heard loud hissing and growling and knew that Frida must be in her wild cat state. Whoever was attacking her was in for it now. Next, there was screaming and two splashes. Manny got to the lake and saw Frida, ears back and crouched down, waiting for whoever fell in to resurface. Manny's eyes widened when Vultura and Lady Gobbler came up, gasping for air.

"What the hell is going on?" he said. He knew that Frida knew he was there, for he saw her ears perk up, but she was to consumed with the bird-themed villainesses to attack him. Vultura shot another laser at Frida, and she ran into the woods. The two ladies swam to the shore and ran after Frida. Manny shot his grappling claw at a near by tree and tripped them.

"El Tigre!" Vultura said when they saw him. "What are you doing here?!"

"I should be asking that question!" Manny yelled, flexing his claws. "Why are you attacking Frida?"

"That's none of your concern, boy!" Lady Gobbler shouted, brushing the dirt off of her after getting up. She and Vultura ran into the woods, El Tigre following close behind. Their jetpacks looked like they had scratch marks on them. Manny assumed that Frida must have jumped up on them and done something with her claws. Man, for an old lady, Lady Gobbler sure could run fast! Vultura wasn't exactly slow either. Manny shot his claws at them again and grabbed them by the ankles, tripping them again. Fighting out here was a lot different then fighting in the city. Out here, he had nothing he could use to catch them with like he usually did back home. Still holding on tightly to their ankles, he flung them at a tree. Lady Gobbler shot at him with her laser and he didn't have time to dodge it. He was sent flying and collided with a tree. His hands now securely back on his wrists, he held his stomach where he was hit, bending forward slightly. Vultura was shot at him again and he braced himself, expecting more pain. But instead of being hit again, something tackled him, knocking him out of the way. They rolled a few feet before stopping, who ever tackled him now on top of him. Manny opened his eyes and was startled to see two narrow cat eyes looking down at him. Frida quickly got off of him and turned to face the flock, hissing. Manny saw Vultura and Lady Gobbler both smirk before firing a series of lasers at Frida. When the smoke cleared, the tree that was behind her had massive gaping holes where the laser had struck it, but Frida was no where to be seem. Vultura and Lady Gobbler looked around the immediate area, as did Manny, but none of them saw the cat girl. Suddenly, the villainesses were side tackled, just as Manny had been, but not nearly as nicely. With a few good swipes, Frida had destroyed the flocks' lasers and given them a few good cuts, too. Manny had a flashback of Frida's fight with Cuervo and realized that there was a little birdie missing. He wondered why Cuervo would let her family take on Frida when she knew from experience that no one could beat her by themselves. This thought immediately left his mind when he saw that Frida had her claws raised for the last strike, just like what happened with Cuervo.

"Frida, don't!" he yelled. She paused and looked at him, still in her wild cat state. Vultura took this opportunity to kick her off of them. She then pressed a button on her glove and before long, Cuervo came flying in and, with alittle difficulty, flew her family out of there. She said something, but Manny didn't catch it. He watched them leave, and made an "ooph!" sound when he was suddenly tackled again. Landing on his back knocked the wind out of him so he coughed once before opening his eyes to see Frida above him once again, pinning him down by his shoulders. He closed his eyes and tensed, expecting her to scratch him up again. When she didn't, he opened his eyes and looked at her. Her eyes were no longer narrow slits, but they were still cat-like in some way. She didn't growl, hiss, or even bare her fangs. She was just looking at him with much focus. She leaned closer to him and sniffed his bandanna. He started breathing alittle faster and his heart rate picked up. His eyes widened when she brought her face up to his. She tilted her head to the side, as if confused, and he couldn't help but find it adorable. Still on top of him, she lifted her head and looked around them. Satisfied that there was no one else around that she had to worry about, she crawled off of him and sat up, licked the back of her hand and rubbed it on her ear. Manny slowly sat up, Frida watching him out of the corner of her eye. She stood up and started walking away. Manny quickly got up and followed her.

"Frida?" he whispered. He saw her ears perk up at his words, but other than that, she didn't respond. He followed her to the lake, where she sat down in a grassy area where they could still see the water. He sat next to her and wondered if he should say something. She chuckled.

"What?" he asked.

"Did you hear what Cuervo said when she flew off?" Frida said.

"No, what?" Well, she was talking and she never did that while in her cat state, so that must be a good sigh.

She laughed again. "She said 'I told you she'd kick your butts!'" They both laughed. Frida yawned, stretched, and lay down with her hands behind her head, looking up at the sky. Manny was once again grabbed by the desire to kiss her. He wondered if he could turn this into a continuation of what happened this morning. Now how could he do that? He thought about it and was sad to say he came up with nothing. But then he thought of something.

What if he just told her how he felt?

The fact that she kissed him on the cheek twice and almost kissed him on the lips once should say something, right? Something about her maybe having the same feelings for him, right? Even though it all added up, Manny was still scared to make a move. God knows he wanted to, but what if she _didn't_ feel the same way? Girls are a lot more complicated than guys are, so what if he was misreading the signs? What if the rules were different for them? What if, to them, kisses on the cheek meant nothing, especially if it was your best friend who just happened to be a guy? As Manny thought this, he suddenly felt discouraged. He kept his eyes glued to water, trying to think of what to do now. Well, what would the worst caseinario be? The worst one would be that she would laugh at him and then never speak to him again, or she'd get angry and yell at him, saying something like 'Are you _trying_ to ruin our friendship?!' and then never speak to him again, or-

"Manny," Frida said, snapping him out of his thought. He looked at her, hoping to see two round pupils, but they were still cat-like.

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?" In her voice, he heard genuine concern. He lay down next to her, only about 5 inches away.

"Nothing's wrong. Why do you think something's wrong?" What was she, a mind reader?

"I can sense that you're really worried and scared." She turned to him. "What's the matter?"

Manny paused for a moment. "I can't tell you."

"What do you mean you can't tell me? We tell each other everything." She said.

He rolled over so he was facing her, resting his head on his hand. "That's the thing, I _want_ to tell you, but I…I'm just…" He sighed. "I'm scared of what your reaction might be."

"Oh, God. Did you kill someone?"

He chuckled. "No, nothing like that."

Frida laughed and rolled onto her side, just as he had done. "So, what's the problem then? Is it a secret? Because you know, as your best friend, I have a right to know all your secrets." She smiled. "It's in my contract."

Manny thought for a minute. That was true. As his best friend, she _did_ have a right to know his secrets. "Well, that means that as _your_ best friend, _I_ have a right to know all of _your_ secrets, too."

"That's true."

"Okay, how 'bout this. You tell me one of your secrets and I'll tell you mine."

"Okay," Frida thought. "Ummm…. You know Victor?" Manny thought about the boy they went to school with. He claimed to be straight, but you could tell by looking at him the he was gayer than a rainbow. He refused to wear clothes that weren't brand name, and he was probably the only boy in school whose favorite conversation topic was hair care products.

"What about him?"

"Back in the beginning of sixth grade, I had the _biggest_ crush on him." Manny felt bad about laughing, but he couldn't help but burst into a giggle fit. "That's fine. Laugh if you want. Doesn't bother me."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Manny said, getting a hold of himself. "It's not funny. You can have a crush on whoever you want to have a crush on."

Now it was Frida's turn to giggle. "Yeah, well, I got over him and I told him that I used to like him and now were buddies."

They both giggled. "Okay, so what's your secret?"

He smirked. He opened his mouth to say it, but nothing came out. Instead, he laughed again. "Sorry, I just…it's hard to say."

"Oh, c'mon!" Frida pressed. "I told you one of mine!" He didn't say anything. "Would it help to hear another one?"

Manny smiled. "Maybe."

"Okay, lemme think…oh, I know. Remember back when you were dating Cuervo?"

Manny sighed. "Why must we keep bringing that up?"

Frida giggled. "I was crazy jealous."

Manny cocked an eyebrow and smirk. "Excuse me?"

"Not so much because you had a girlfriend," she said quickly. "More because you were spending more time with someone else than you were with me." She grinned sheepishly.

Manny tilted his head. "Really? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…push you aside like I did."

Frida smiled. "It's okay." She then perked up. "Now will you tell me _your_ secret?"

Manny sighed. "You sure you wanna hear it?"

Frida rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not sure. In fact, no, I don't wanna hear it." She said sarcastically. "Yes, I wanna hear it!"

He smirked. "I'm…in love with you."

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**Oooooooo! Manny told his secret! I wonder what this will lead to…wait, why am I wondering? I'm the author, I know what's gonna happen…but I bet **_**your**_** wondering, aren't you? Haha!**


	12. She doesn't remember

**I'm famous for my cliffhangers. ;) And I'm also famous for my super updating ability!… which is why I apologize for taking so long. Family issues. Hehehe.**

**Also! How 'bout those pictures, huh?**

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"I'm…in love with you."

Frida's eyes widen. She stared at him for a bit. "Really?"

Manny nodded. "Sorry, that was a bad way to put it. Umm…wanna know who my crush is?"

A smirk worked its way onto Frida's face. "Wow." She giggled and looked away from him, tilting her head to let her hair fall over her face.

Manny rolled back onto his back. "Somehow, I knew you'd laugh at me."

"No," Frida said, still giggling. "I'm not laughing at you." She put her hand over her mouth to try and muffle her laughter.

"Yes, you are." Manny stared at the sky.

"No, I'm not." She said. "I'm laughing…to hide that…I'm blushing." Manny looked at her. Her hair was in her face, so he couldn't see it. Rolling back on his side, he reached over and moved her hair. Her eyes were glued to the ground and she was smiling, and sure enough, she was as red as her outfit.

Manny chuckled. "You're cute when you blush." He said. She looked at him and couldn't help but giggle some more. Manny smiled. "Uh….so…"

"Hmm?"

Manny rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the water. "Um…well?"

Frida cocked an eyebrow. "Well, what?" He looked at her and said nothing. But she could sense what he meant.

"Oh." She said. Manny laughed nervously. Frida blushed again and looked away. "Um…Heh. I don't know what to say."

His ears went back. "Should I take that as a no?"

"No." Frida said quickly. "I mean I literally don't know what to say. It's just…this isn't how I imagined confession time would be." She laughed, rolled back onto her back and scratching behind her ear. She looked back at Manny and saw he was staring at her with a loving gaze.

"So…is it safe to assume that's a yes, then?" he said, hopefully.

She nodded. "Safe to assume."

He was trying to hide it, but she saw it when he victoriously punched the air and brought his fist back down. She laughed. And he laughed. Then they sat in silence for a bit.

"Sooo…now what?" Frida asked. Manny smirked.

"Well, we could start with this." He rolled over next to her, put his hand on her face, and kissed her. It wasn't a deep kiss, just a simple peck on the lips. He looked at her, waiting for her reaction. Her face was beat red, the fur on her tail was standing straight up, and if her eyes were any wider, they'd pop. He laughed. She shook her shock off and stared at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She rolled back on her side and tried again, but still, nothing came out. Her hands twitched and moved around, as if she was trying to talk with them. When still nothing happened, she slammed her fist on the ground.

"Dammit!" she said.

"What?"

She rested her head on her hand and closed her eyes, lazily. "I _really_ want you to do that again, but I'd feel to awkward asking…I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Her response was a pair of lips touching her own. Manny felt her start to purr as her arms snaked around his neck, his own arms wrapping around her waist. The awkwardness melted away, along with all previous hesitation. Manny pulled her closer to him, both of them still lying on their sides. After what felt like hours, but was really only a few minutes, they broke away, still holding and staring at each other.

"Wow." Frida said.

"Yeah," Manny agreed. "Wow." After a moment of silence, they burst into laughter. Manny rolled on his back and Frida curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder.

"I love you." He whispered.

"I love you, too." Then She yawned.

"I'm getting kinda sleepy," she said, closing her eyes.

"Maybe that's because it's almost morning. But, then again, you're _always_ sleepy." Manny laughed. He looked at her and sighed. She was already fast asleep. Manny thought about what should he do now. This was…what, the third time she'd fallen asleep on him? He didn't want to take her back to her cabin. He finally had her and he didn't want to be apart from her now. Come to think of it, he _couldn't_ take her back to her cabin. She shared a bunk bed with Cuervo, right? And Cuervo's family just tried to _assinant_ her, right? So, taking Frida back to her cabin with Cuervo there…there's something wrong with that, right? Manny smiled, proud of his excuse. He carefully picked Frida up and carried her back to his cabin.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Frida woke up bright and early. She yawned and smiled. This was going to be a good day. She didn't know why, but she could feel it. She could also feel something warm around her. Her eyes were still closed, but she could sense that she was the first one up. At least the sun was up. She opened them, and saw another bed above her. What the…? She looked to her right and rolled her eyes. She was in bed with Manny again. She thought about what might have gotten her here this time. She remembered the events of the previous night and smiled.

Oh, she remembered, all right.

She carefully wiggled out of his arms and tiptoed out of the cabin.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manny woke up and the first thing he noticed was that he was one kitten short. The sun was up and the other guys were starting to wake up, too. Diego was waking up a not-to-thrilled-to-be-woken-up Sergio, and Django, who looked like he had been up for a bit, was lazily lying on his bed, tuning his guitar.

"Morning!" Manny said happily, and stretched. Today was going to be a good day.

Django looked at him. "Don't tell me you're dipping into the catnip, too."

"Nope." Manny said. "I just think it's going to be a good day today."

Django and Manny left to go to the cafeteria and to find Frida. Manny decided not to tell Django about him and Frida. He'd find out soon enough.

On their way to the cafeteria, they saw the blue-haired beauty step out of her cabin. She also began to walk to the cafeteria, but she didn't see them. Manny ran up behind her, threw his arms around her, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. "Morning, Kitty Cat!" he said in a song-like voice.

She laughed, though seemed a bit confused. "Don't tell me someone actually _did_ get into the catnip." She teased.

"That's what _I_ said." Django said. They walked into the cafeteria, got their breakfast and sat at their table. Manny wondered why Frida was acting like nothing had happened last night. Maybe she was just shy or embarrassed in front of other people, in which case, he didn't want to push her. Pretending nothing happened was slightly disappointing though.

"Guys, I've seriously had it up to here with Cuervo." Frida said.

Manny laughed. "So, what'd she do this time?"

"She's flaunting around like she owns the place! This morning, she cornered me and was like 'Don't think that just because you stepped up from being an annoying, helpless sidekick to actually having powers, that you're any less a disaster waiting to happen!'" Frida spat with her best Cuervo accent. "What the hell is it any business of hers anyway?" She sipped on her milk. "Eh, she's probably just mad 'cause I almost killed her family last night." She laughed.

"Wait," Django said. "What about that thing that you knew that was keeping her from doing anything?"

Frida shrugged. "She said she doesn't care anymore." She put her Cuervo accent on again. "Go ahead and tell Manny! Tell everyone if you want. I don't care!"

"So what was it?" The guys asked together.

"Black Cuervo and Zoe Aves are the same person." She looked at Manny. "Congratulations. You went out with my worst enemy on _two_ scales."

Manny looked like he was going to be sick. "I think I'm ill." He said, holding his stomach.

She laughed and then leaned back in her seat. "Seriously, I think I just move into your cabin. I mean, I wake up in Manny's bed half the time anyway. Screw the rule about no mixed genders!" Manny blushed at her fact, but also smiled.

Diego and Sergio were miraculously at her sides in seconds. "That would be _fine_." Sergio said.

"Would you like our help moving your things?" Diego added.

Frida laughed. "Maybe." When they left, Frida suddenly put her hand to her head and groaned.

"What's the matter, Kitten?" Django asked.

Frida shook her head. "Nothing. I'm fine. I just got a…really random headache." She said. "Wait…" She looked like she was trying to think of or remember something. "Dammit." She closed her eyes.

"What wrong, Frida?" Manny asked.

"I remember there was something I wanted to remember but now I forgot it and I can't remember it…if that makes any sense." Manny and Django were confused, but they followed.

"So," Django said, trying to keep up. "Do you remember anything about what it was you wanted to remember…or…something?"

Frida looked at the table and thought. "I…think…it happened last night." She said and looked at Manny. "Manny, you were there, right? What happened that I'm forgetting?"

Manny shrugged. "What do you remember?"

Frida thought again. "I remember the fight with the Flock of Fury and I remember Cuervo flying away saying 'I told you she'd kick your butts!" Django laughed. Manny nodded.

"And then what?" He reached out and put his hand on her hand.

"Then I…past out, didn't I?"

Manny withdrew his hand, leaned back in his chair, and stared at her, feeling hurt.

She wasn't pretending nothing had happened.

She didn't remember.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**Aw, so sad. Manny's gonna have to confess all over again. Sadness.**


	13. Yippee Kai Yay

**Okay, I drew another picture called 'Manny's photo album of Love.' It's on my page and yes, it has the two of them kissing. I now command you to go see it!**

…

**Read this chapter, then go see it!**

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She didn't remember.

Manny felt a dropping feeling in his stomach. It was like last night never happened. And even though it did, it didn't matter. All because of that stupid memory problem that came along with being in her cat state.

"Manny, you okay?" Frida said. Manny looked at her.

"I'm fine." He said. But his voice was so low and his tone was so weak, she didn't need super senses to know he was lying.

"You're lying." She said. Manny got up and walked out of the room, not even finishing his food. Frida looked at Django, who shrugged.

Manny went to the spot by the lake where he and Frida were the previous night. He sat on the ground and pulled his knees up to his chest. She didn't remember. As far as she knew, nothing _did_ happen. Manny felt like an idiot. She probably thought he was an idiot, the way he just randomly kissed her this morning. He felt like his heart had been ripped out. Now he had to confess all over again. But then he thought of something and instantly perked up.

Frida _had_ said she loved him!

But what if that wasn't really Frida talking? What if that was La Gatita talking? She had been in her cat state the whole time, so what if she had, like, a split personality or something? No, that was impossible. He knew Frida better than anyone and that was definitely Frida he was talking to last night. So…did that mean that she _did_ love him?

Well, if that was the case, then that made his job a whole lot easier. Sure, he had to re-confess, but at least he knew what the answer would be…yet, somehow, it didn't make it any less scary. Well, on the up side, he at least could do it right this time. Maybe a more romantic setting, and instead of just bursting out with it, he could ease into it. But, now that he thought about it, alone by the lake under the stars was a pretty romantic setting. Well, maybe he could improve it somehow. Maybe flowers?

He was broken out of his thoughts by a hands placed on his shoulder. He snapped his head around and saw Frida sit down next to him with a worried look on her face. "Manny, what's the matter?"

He looked back out over the water. "Nothing."

Frida sighed. "Don't lie to me. I can sense you're not as upset as you were, but there is still something bothering you. What is it?" She rubbed his shoulder. "Does it have something to do with what I didn't remember?" She looked out over the water. "This is where it happened, isn't it?"

He smiled slightly. He was dying to tell her now, but he also wanted to wait and was alittle scared, too. He knew lying to Frida would get him no where, so he improvised. "I'll tell you later."

She seemed unsatisfied with his answer, but she let it go. For the rest of the day, Manny tried to think of the perfect way to re-confess. If the sloppy way he had done it last night worked, then he didn't have to try hard. But he wanted to. He wanted it to be something Frida would remember forever. He wanted it to be perfect.

"So," Frida said at lunch. "What are the possibilities of me moving in with you guys tonight?"

Manny, who had his head resting lazily in his hand, looked up at her. "You mean you were actually serious?"

"Hell, yes, I was serious!" She said. "I honestly think that if I have to stand one more second of Cuervo bitching at me, I'll lose it."

"So tell her that." Django said, taking a bite of his lunch. "If I were her, I'd be scared to death of you, the way you beat the crap outta her that one time." He took another bite. "Why is she such a bitch to you anyway?"

Frida sighed. "Number one, Zoe and I have always been at each others' throats, and number two, she's angry because she thinks I stole her precious El Tigre away from her, and it makes her even madder when I tell her that she doesn't have a chance at winning him back." Manny choked on the sip of milk he had just taken. He coughed it out and looked at the faces now staring at him.

"Sorry," he said to Frida. "Continue."

"Dude, you okay?" she asked. He nodded.

Just then, Manny and Django saw Frida's ears twitch in the direction of Cuervo's table. They looked over and saw her angrily get up and stomp towards them, followed by almost every girl there. Frida sighed in annoyance. "Hi, Manny." They all said in flirty voices.

Then Cuervo turned to Frida. "You know, I think it's real cute that you think I don't know your talking shit about me." She said, sarcastically.

Frida looked up at her. "Zoe, look me in the eyes. Do I look like I honestly care? Like you don't talk shit about me every damn day and then some. All of which, I hear, by the way." She tapped her cat ear. Zoe tensed up when Frida called her by her real name, and glanced at Manny, which Frida caught. "Already told him, hon. Thought you said you didn't care."

Cuervo looked at Manny. He visibly shivered. "I can't believe I actually _held_ your _hand_!" he said, his voice thick with disgust. By now, they had an audience of most of the lunchroom.

Hurt was visibly on her face, but she quickly shook it off and turned to Frida again. "You know what, _Suarez_? It's _pathetic_ that in order to make yourself look good, you have to talk shit about other people who actually _have_ a life!" The crowd "Oooo!"ed.

Che yelled "Are you gonna take that, Frida?"

Frida chuckled, completely unfazed. "_Your_ pathetic for even _trying_ to use that on me." The crowd whooped.

Cuervo was frustrated that she wasn't getting to her. Manny and Django exchanged glances that said 'Here we go again.' One of the girls behind Cuervo stepped up and said, "Don't even _try_ and pull that 'I'm so innocent!' crap with _us_, sister!"

Manny and Django looked at Frida. Her smirk was gone. She looked at them and said with her eyes, '_Now_ I'm pissed.' She got up, shoved Cuervo out of her way, rather roughly might I add, and took the girl by the collar, holding her up. "Listen to me, _very_ carefully." Her voice was slow and thick with venom. "I am just about ready to beat the living _shit_ out of Cuervo here…again. And trust me, there will be blood…_again_. Don't make me have to beat the shit out of you, too." She saw she was cutting the girl's air off, so with one final glare she let her drop to the ground. Frida sat back down again and took a deep breath. Manny smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Cuervo was stunned by Frida's sudden dangerous attitude.

"Bitch." She muttered and turned and walked away, motioning for her friends to follow. Frida smacked her hands down on the table and got up again. Manny knew that now she had lost it, not only because of her body language, but also because he saw cat eyes.

"Oh, hell." He muttered as Frida followed her.

"Hey, Zoe!" she yelled. Zoe spun around and was about to shout, "_**What**_?!" But before she had even uttered a sound, Frida's fist crashed into her face so hard that her helmet broke. The girls around gasped, but didn't dare get in the angry Gatita's way. Zoe held her face, screeching with pain. After getting herself back together, she faced Frida and was going to punch her back, but Frida beat her to the punch…literally. Zoe stumbled backwards, holding her face. She quickly turned and rushed out of the room. Frida smirked. "Yippee Kai Yay, mother fu-" At that moment, Diego sneezed. Frida turned to the girls around her and made a 'C'mon!' motion with her hands.

"Who's next?!" she hissed. They all ran after Zoe. The crowd cheered as Frida sat back down. Manny and Django were slightly fidgety due to the still wild cat eyes. Frida closed them and took several deep breaths and when she opened them, they were back to normal.

"Ah, getting the hang of those powers, are we?" Django said.

Frida smiled and shrugged. "It's not easy, but I've been working on it."

"Well, good for you!" Manny said.

Frida laughed. "Thanks Manny. So, anyway, about me moving in…"

"Frida, I am moving your things _for_ you." Manny interrupted. Without the least bit hesitation, Frida stood up, leaned over the table, grabbed Manny's head and gave him two big kisses on both cheeks.

"Gracias, Manny." She said.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

**And we'll be right back after a word from our sponsors. Don't move a muscle. **


	14. Just think of all the Dobermans!

**And now we're back.**

**You moved, didn't you?**

**I'm actually really unhappily with this chapter. I just needed to get something up. The next one will be better. Let's just call this a 'filling in the blanks'. But you guys may like it. I don't know. **

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Manny smiled and blushed. "No problema."

Frida smiled and sat back down.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manny set Frida's lightweight bag down at the foot of his bed. He had snuck into her cabin earlier and got it without telling her. Diego and Sergio were ecstatic about the kitten senorita staying with them, and Django was pretty excited, too. And god knows Manny was overwhelmed with joy. They had no idea what the sleeping arrangements would be, but they assumed Frida would come up with something. Like Manny said, she always did.

Django was, like this morning, lazily lying in his bed, his guitar in his lap. Manny was sitting Indian style on his, and Sergio and Diego were sitting at the foot of Django's. They were all talking when they heard footsteps on the roof. "Frida's here." Manny said happily.

She came in giggling and sat down on the foot of Manny's bed.

"What's funny?" Diego asked.

"You guys should see Zoe's face!" she said. "It's all cut up from her helmet breaking and so she going around helmet-less…it looks so weird."

They sat in silence for a short minute. "You have the strangest sense of humor." Django finally said.

Frida shrugged. "I just don't like her." She said happily. "So, did I miss anything important?"

"Nope," Manny said. "We were just hanging out, waiting for you."

"Aww, I feel so special." Frida said. "Well, then, what do we do now?"

"We could play spin the bottle." Sergio said, suggestively. Frida looked annoyed.

"I have a better idea. Let's play a game called Frida Chucks a Baseball at Your Face." She said, pulling a baseball out of no where and tossing it to herself. "How we play is I chuck this baseball at your face and see how many times it takes me to knock all your teeth out."

"I wanna play that game." Manny said. They laughed, except for Sergio, who looked quite frightened.

"So, Kitten," Django said. "Get into any cat fights on your way over?"

Frida was about to say something when her cell phone rang, startling her and causing her to meow like she had done at Manny's house. "Hello?" she said when she pulled it out of her pocket. "Ohhh, hi Dad." She looked at Manny with a 'Oh, shit,' expression. "Would you ladies excuse me for a moment?" she said. "Oh, not you, Dad. I was talking to the girl I share a cabin with, here at police camp, cuz that's where I am, I'm at police camp." She got up and walked out of the room.

Django looked at Manny. "I'm confused."

Manny chuckled, leaning back on his pillow. "Her dad's the chief of police in Miracle City and thinks that she's at police cadet training camp."

"Ah, that makes sense." He said. "Frida has a cute meow." Sergio and Diego agreed.

'Dream on, guys. She's mine.' Manny thought.

After a moment, Frida came back inside. She sighed and fell back on Manny's bed. "You know something I just thought of?"

"What?" Manny asked.

Frida's voice was slightly muffled due to her face in the sheets. "When I get home, my Dad's gonna expect me to be a cop. And I've been at villain camp the whole time…anyone one else see the problem?"

Manny sat up. "You mean you were supposed to come home a cop? Are you even old enough to-?"

"Dad says my Gatita powers will make up for my age and the fact that my dad's the chief doesn't hurt either." She interrupted. "What am I gonna do?"

"Well, Kitten, looks like you're in quite a predicament there." Django said.

"Ya think?"

"You know what the worst part about being a cop is gonna be?" Manny said.

"There's a worse part?"

"Just think of all the _Dobermans_!" Manny chuckled and the other guys soon joined in.

Frida looked up at them, her ears going back. "Dudes, not funny. I didn't think about that…this isn't going to go over well." She looked at Diego and Sergio. "You two are awfully quite."

"I'm scared to say anything." Sergio said. "I don't want to have a baseball chucked at me."

"And I don't want to get on the list." Diego added.

Frida laughed. "Chillax, I was just playing." She held herself up on her elbows. "So what am I gonna do?"

"Simple," Diego said. "You sneak into the camp, persuade and/or bribe them to say that you've been there the whole time, steal a badge and uniform, and when you get home, just tell your dad you don't want to be a cop."

Frida was silent for a moment. "That's actually…a really, really good idea!" she said. "Thank you!" Diego smiled. "By the way, I know I named you after a guy we know at school…you're the guy I named you after, aren't you?"

Diego's eyes widened. "Uh, I...um…well…"

"For the record, you can't lie to me." Frida said. She turned to Django. "Looks like you're the only villain/ might be a villain here who doesn't go to our school, Django." She smiled at Manny when she said the 'might be villain' part.

Django smirked. "Small world."

"Ain't that the truth."

There was silence, as no one knew what to say next. "Well, this is boring." Frida said. "Do you guys sit in awkward silence all the time, or just when I'm around?"

"Well," Manny said. "What did you guys do at your cabin?"

"Want me to list 'em?" Frida scuffed. "Well, Cuervo and I spent most of our time hating each other, all the girls spent most of their time bitching at me, so I usually just prowled around outside until they all fell asleep. Which is kinda why I wanted to stay here with you guys instead."

"Wow," Sergio said. "Sounds like you had it rough."

"Yep." Frida sighed and rolled over on her back and yawned. "I'm getting' kinda sleepy."

"Which brings us to our next issue." Manny said. "What are the sleeping arrangements going to be?" But Frida had already curled up and was fast asleep.

"Damn," Django said. "When she says she's sleepy, she don't kid around. So what are we going to do with her?"

"I...guess…she's bunking with me." Manny said. She was on his bed, and she was at the foot of the bed just like a cat, so there should be nothing wrong with that, right?

"Now that she mentioned it, I'm getting tired myself." Django said, yawning.

And before long, everyone was fast asleep.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

…**yeah, by far the worst chapter yet. But I'll make the next one better. I promise. **


	15. I love her

**I got myself a good catnap today so now I'm ready to write a hopefully much better chapter.**

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It was still considerably early when our favorite kitten woke up. For some reason, she was really irritated. She knew she had better get the cop thing straightened out, and she knew it would be better to do it sooner rather than later. She forced herself to sit up. She looked around at her surroundings. She was slightly shocked to see she was in the same place she had fallen asleep in. The foot of Manny's bed, curled up like a cat. For some reason, she had sort of expected them to move her.

Oh well, it wasn't important. She thought for a moment. She didn't know how long the police camp thing would take and she debated on whether she should leave now or wait until nighttime. She decided that she should probably just do it now and get it over with. She looked at Manny, who was still fast asleep. God, he was so _cute_ when he was asleep. She wondered if she should wake him up and tell him she was leaving. No, she didn't want to disturb him. He was smart enough to figure it out when he woke up. But maybe a note wouldn't hurt.

She sighed and made herself get up, being as quiet as possible. She dug in her suitcase and pulled something out. She spun her buckle, changing back into her usual attire and silently cursing herself for forgetting about the small noise it made. She felt good to be back in her skirt and suspenders, but was slightly confused when her senses didn't change in the slightest. She wasn't all kitty-cat anymore, so that should mean that her senses should go back to normal, right?

'I wonder if it's like that for Manny, too.' She thought, and went into the bathroom to change. She came out not too many minutes later in a police outfit much like the ones her sisters wore. She didn't particularly like wearing it, but at least it looked good on her. She looked at Manny again. He hadn't moved. She stared at him for at least a few minutes. God, he was so cute, she could barely stand it. She was suddenly grabbed by the desire for him to hold her. To be in his arms again…

Then, she literally slapped herself in the face. 'What the hell am I doing?' she thought. 'I'm Frida Suarez! I don't freakin' _swoon _like some freakin' damsel in distress!' Now that she thought about it, before the whole La Gatita thing, that's what she was always made out to be. A damsel in distress. A freakin' damsel in distress! She was always the one get captured and Manny always had to come save her. She wanted to point out that _she_ had saved _Manny_ a good few times, too! The irritation she felt earlier was starting to bubble into anger. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, thank you very much. She didn't ask to be saved. She flicked her belt, gaining her cat ears and tail back, along with her gloves, wristbands, and 'Gatita' necklace, and opened the door to leave.

"So, were you just going to leave without telling anyone?"

Without facing him, she said, "I figured you were smart enough to figure out where I'd be. And I didn't want to wake you up."

There was a moment of silence. "You look really pretty in that outfit."

Frida's lips curled into a smirk. "Thanks." She was still holding the door open. "Okay, I'm leaving now."

"Hey, Frida?"

She turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

Manny looked like he was going to say something, but then changed his mind. "Be careful."

Frida voice was alittle bit shaper than she intended. "I can take care of myself."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manny sat with his head down on the table. Frida had left a good few hours ago, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Django looked at his friend with confused eyes.

"What's eatin' you?" he asked.

"Mmmm."

"You feel okay?"

"Mmmm."

"Miss Kitten?"

"Mm-what?"

Django smirked and leaned back in his chair. "Yep, he misses Kitten."

Manny sat up. "Well, I…I just have this feeling that something bad is going to happen to her."

Django sighed. "Manny, she's a big girl. She can handle herself." Manny's worried expression didn't change. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Manny looked at him with wide eyes. "Wha…? I…uh, well…c-c'mon, she's...my best friend." He laughed nervously.

Django held his hands up. "Alright, whatever. I'm not gonna argue." He put his hands behind his head and put his feet up on the table. "Sure is boring without her."

Manny leaned back as well. "Well, everyone knows that _you've_ got the hots for her!"

Django smirked. "Maybe." He looked up at the empty seat across from them that usually held Frida. "Manny, watch out."

"Why?"

"Zoe, or Cuervo, or whatever the hell her name is, is heading over here and today you don't have Kitten around to protect you." he chuckled.

Manny looked up. Sure enough, Zoe was walking straight to him. Without her helmet, she didn't even look like Cuervo. She looked like Zoe with a mask and leotard on. He panicked. "Is it too late to run for it?"

Django laughed. "It's never to late to run for it."

But unfortunately for Manny, it was. Zoe was at the table. "Manny," she said. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Manny looked at Django and said with his eyes 'Help me!' Django smirked and shrugged. With a sigh, Manny got up and followed Zoe out of the room.

Once they got outside, she crossed her arms and didn't look him. "So," he said. "What's up?"

Zoe started pacing. "Where's the cat?"

"Away. Why?"

She turned to him. "Tell me something, Tigre." Her tone scared him. Not because it was harsh, but because it was gentle. "And be honest. What does she have that I don't?"

Manny stiffened. "Come again?"

Zoe dropped her arms. "Oh, c'mon, Manny!" Her voice now held a certain desperation. "What happened to us?"

"You tried to kill my best friend, that's what happened!" Manny said rather harshly. "And even if you hadn't, I don't like you like that anymore!"

Zoe huffed. "You think she's your best friend? Please. She's pushy, she's rude, she's bad tempered, she's cocky, and she's _dangerous_! You never know when she might turn around and _kill_ someone! She's just a filthy, dangerous, accident waiting to happen!"

_That_ made him angry. "Number one, she's _not_ filthy. Number two, yes, she is _very_ dangerous, but who isn't in this place? And number three, she _**is**_ an accident waiting to happen! But it shouldn't matter to you, because if she's a danger to anyone, it's to herself more than anything. And that just make me feel more compelled to stay around her!" He shouted. "And, for the record, she's only rude to _you_ because you're such a _bitch_ to her!"

"What do you even _see_ in her?"

Manny laughed. "_Everything_! I…never mind. You don't want to hear it."

Zoe crossed her arms again. "Believe me, I do."

Manny smirked. "I love her."

Zoe's eyes widened. He saw a lot of pain on her face.

He chuckled. "Didn't expect me to say that, did you?"

She slowly shook her head. "Why?" She asked.

"What do you mean 'why?'?"

"How could you honestly love someone like that?" she asked. She sounded on the verge of tears. "We all know how you got that second scar!" She motioned to the large cut over his right eye that Frida had given him that night, which could be seen under his mask.

He put his hand over it. "It's not a scar. It's a cut." His voice was quiet.

She laughed. "Like it won't turn into a scar eventually! And you know what you'll say when people ask you how you got it? 'My 'best friend' gave it to me.'" She quoted the air with her fingers.

If she weren't a girl, Manny would've hit her. "_That_ was an _accident_!" he yelled. "It's also none of your goddamn _business_!" He turned to leave, but felt her hand on his shoulder. "_What_?!" He turned back to yell some more, but was stopped when a pair of lips met his. His eyes widened. At first, he was too shocked to do anything except stand there and wish that Frida was there to save him, but when Zoe leaned into the kiss, he yelped and shoved her away of him. He wiped his lips off and stared at her with wide eyes.

"Don't _ever_ do that again." He said slowly.

"Tell me, Tigre, has your precious kitten ever done that?"

Manny started backing away. "You mean force herself on me like a whore? No, she hasn't. But we've kissed, if that's what you mean." He turned to go back inside. "Oh, by the way, if you tell anyone that I love her," he looked over his shoulder at her. "I'll scratch your eyes out."

"You wouldn't do that to a lady."

Manny laughed. "You're not a lady. You're a bitch." And with that, he walked back inside.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

**Wow, I liked this chapter! Yes, there was more Zoe bashing, but if you don't like it, then don't read the story. Cuz I don't like Zoe. Especially when she's trying to steal Manny away from Frida. Which she'll never do because Frida is just awesome like that. So sue me.**

**Yay! Do you all know what this means? I've gotten to the point where we can start leading up to the climax of the story!! YAY!! The chapters should start flying out now.**


	16. I hurt

**You know, I just now realized that there was an episode where Frida enrolled in a police cadet academy. I have not seen this episode. Shoot, the only episode from season two I've seen is Love and War…I freakin' am dying to see the other ones! Does anyone know if they are on Turbo Nick yet? **

**Yay! Chapter 16! This is officially my longest story ever! And its not even almost done yet! **

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Manny stomped back inside and sat down angrily.

"What'd she do?" Django asked.

Manny shivered. "The bitch said a whole bunch of bad things about Frida and then she _kissed_ me!"

Django spit the milk out that he had been drinking. "She _what_? Is that usual behavior?"

Manny shrugged. "Beat's me."

"Man, Frida's going to be so _pissed_ when she finds out."

Manny looked at his amigo. "Why do you think that?"

Django shrugged. "Well, she's gone for a day and her worst enemy tries to seduce her best friend. I don't know about you, but I'd be angry."

Manny laughed. "Knowing Frida, she'd kill her."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manny and Django had no idea when Frida was going to be back. They spent the whole day anxiously awaiting her return, but it was until late that night that she came stumbling in and fell next to Manny on his bed, looking utterly exhausted and sweating like hell.

"Well, look at you Kitten, in that snazzy outfit."

Frida groaned. "I hate it. I want it off."

"God, Frida, what did they do to you?" Manny asked.

She didn't answer right away due to her heavy breathing. "I ran all…the way…there. I gave them 100 bucks and…they said that if I…could finish…one full day of…their stupid training activities…they'd lie to my dad for me." She rolled over on her back. "Man, my sister's weren't kidding when they said it'd be hell."

"Where'd you get the 100 bucks?" Diego asked.

"What'd you think? I jacked it from some guy on the road." She said. "God, I'm so glad to be outta that place."

"Did they give you a badge?" Sergio asked.

Frida pulled on the gold badge on her shirt. "So, did anything interesting take place during my absence?"

Django snickered. "That Zoe chick tried to seduce your man...I mean, Manny."

Frida rolled back onto her stomach, seeming to forget how exhausted she was. "Did she now." She looked at Manny. "And how did that play out?"

Manny looked at Django, and then back at Frida. "Well…it was lunch time and she asked to talk to me. When we got outside, she…" Manny stopped when she saw Frida's expression. She looked angry, and Manny hadn't even gotten to the worst part yet. "What's wrong?"

"That bitch _kissed_ you?!"

Manny and Django exchanged glances that said 'Wow.' "How did you know that?"

"Duh, I can read your mind." Frida said like it was obvious.

Manny put his hands over his head. "Say what? When did this happen?" If there was one thing he did _not_ want her doing, it was listening to his thoughts. They'd scare her.

Frida snickered. "Just kidding. I can't really read your mind. But I can sense your emotions, and your feeling embarrassed and ashamed. When I got here, I passed by my old cabin and I caught a vibe of Zoe feeling hurt, yet accomplished and slightly tingly. I just put the pieces together." She smiled. "So, tell me exactly what happened."

Manny sighed. "Well, like I said she asked to talk to me and when we got outside, she went all 'what happened to us?' on me, and then she started talking trash about you and when I went to leave, she freakin' kissed me! And then she was like," Manny put on a fake accent like the one Zoe had. "Tell me, Tigre, has your precious kitten ever done that?"

Frida stared at him. "And what did you say?"

"I said, "You mean force herself on me like a whore? No, she hasn't." Frida burst out laughing.

"Wow, nice one." She turned to Django. "Were you present for all of this?"

Django held his hands up innocently. "I was inside the whole time."

Frida smirked, and then sighed. "Well, I'm gonna get out of this damn outfit." She pulled herself to her feet, spun her buckle, and went into the bathroom to change back into her regular clothes. Once she was safely behind the closed bathroom door, Django turned to his three cabin-mates.

"Is it just me, or does she seem a bit…off?"

Manny cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

His skeleton friend shrugged. "Well, we both thought she would be really angry about the whole you-kissed-Zoe thing-"

"_She_ kissed _me_." Manny corrected.

"Whatever. But she seemed a lot cooler about it than we expected."

Manny thought for a moment. He had sensed something slightly different about his Kitten friend, but he assumed it was because she was so exhausted from a long, hard day of police training. "Maybe she's just tired."

Frida came out of the bathroom, now dressed back in her red pants and sleeveless, half-hoodie, and Manny could tell by her irritated expression that she had heard every word of their conversation. It made him feel guilty. He didn't like talking about her behind her back. When she was half way back to Manny's bed, she stopped and stood very still, staring at nothing.

"Frida?" Manny asked. "You okay?" Frida didn't answer. She put her hand to her temple and leaned forward slightly, like she had a headache. Manny saw something flash in her eyes.

They went from normal, to wild cat, and back to normal, in less than a second.

She stared to wobble and had to hold onto Django's bedpost to keep from falling over. Manny and Django both got up.

"Frida, what's wrong?" Manny asked. Her eyes closed and she fell to the floor, but luckily, Manny was instantly there to catch her. "Frida?!" Django was at their side in no time and Sergio and Diego both jumped down from the top bunks.

Frida squeezed her eyes closed and groaned before she slowly opened them again. They flashed from normal to wild to normal again.

"I hurt." She said weakly.

**Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

**Gasp! What's wrong with Frida? Why was she acting so bizarrely? What's going to happen next? Why am I asking you these questions? **


	17. Leave me alone

**(Insert lame joke here.)**

**I would like to say thank you so freakin' much to Cardcaptor Katara for that very helpful information! I would also like to once again say thank you for coloring my 'Manny's Photo Album of Love' and for putting La Gatita in your OC picture. I somehow feel the need to return your kindness. Would you like me to draw you something? Because I can. ****:)**

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"I hurt." Frida said weakly.

"What hurts, Frida?" Manny asked softly, still cradling her in his arms.

She squeezed her eyes shut again. "Everything!"

Manny looked at the three faces around them, all of them seemed almost as scared as he was. "What do we do?"

Diego stepped forward. "Let me see her. I'm a doctor." On any other day, Manny would have laughed or told him to screw off, but right now, he just wanted to know what was wrong with Frida and how they could fix it. He hesitantly loosened his arms so that Diego could take a look at her. Frida apparently didn't want to be touched, because when he took her wrist and felt her pulse, she opened her eyes, revealing her wild cat slits, and let out a low growl. Her ears were flat on her head and they all knew she would've attacked him had she not been in so much pain. Manny held her tighter and stroked her hair, trying to calm her down. She continued growling, but didn't move.

"My God!" Diego said. "Her heart beat is through the roof!"

"Is that bad?" Sergio asked.

Diego looked at him like he was an idiot. "Yes, that's bad, you dope! That combined with her blacking out and being in pain… well, it's certainly not good!" He turned to Manny. "Could something be causing this? Like an outside energy source, or something that could possibly be draining her energy?"

Manny looked down at Frida, who he now had laying in his lap. She had stopped growling and was now staring at nothing. He saw tears in her eyes, but she made no noise. "Maybe…her belt." He turned to Django, who had kneeled down next to them. "Could that be it?"

Django shrugged. "Maybe be La Gatita for so long did something to her."

"Yeah," Manny turned back to Diego. "Would changing her out of La Gatita help?"

Diego looked down at Frida, and then back at Manny. "Wouldn't hurt to try."

Manny reached for her buckle and was about to spin it when Frida grabbed his wrist with one hand, and put her other hand protectively over her belt so no one else could touch it, hissing as she did so. It startled Manny. He looked down at her with wide eyes. She had that same killing look he had seem that night when she attacked him. "If you touch my belt, I'll break your neck."

Everyone in the room was frozen in shock, unable to do anything except stare. Frida groaned in pain again, shut her eyes, and released Manny's wrist so she could hold her stomach. She was breath alittle bit harder than she should be.

"Frida," Manny said slowly and gently put his hand on her arm. Her eyes shot open and she growled threateningly at him, but made no move to bite him, which she was in a perfect position to do. "Do you want the pain to go away?" She stopped growling and glared at him, before nodding. "Then you're going to have to trust us and spin your buckle." He stroked her hair, comfortingly.

"Actually, Manny," Diego said. "Now that I see this, I think it would be better if she just took it off."

Manny looked down at Frida. She was staring at him with a very dangerous look in her eyes, which were still cat eyes. Like she was literally _daring_ him to even _try_ and touch her belt. And it scared him.

"I don't think we should touch her belt." He said. The other three guys looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" Django asked. "You want her to get better, don't you?"

Manny looked at him and then back at Frida. He was absolutely right. It was Frida's own good. She must've sensed that he changed his mind, because her breathing got quicker. More of anxiety to see if he would honestly be stupid enough to touch her belt than anything else. Slowly, he once again reached for her belt.

The next thing he knew, he was on his hands and knees, holding his face where Frida had punched him. He looked down at his glove and saw a small smear of blood. He wiped his bleeding nose, pulled himself to his feet and turned back to the others. Frida was on her feet, growling at the three other boys who now had her cornered. Unable to stand the pain, she held her stomach and leaned against the wall, still growling. Manny stepped forward. "Nice kitty." He said, holding his hands up. She sank to the floor and wrapped her tail around herself, unintentionally letting a few tears escape her eyes. Manny took another step forward and knelt down next to her. She looked at him once again as if she were daring him to touch her. "Okay, Frida, we won't touch your belt." Manny said.

Diego looked at him like he was crazy. "But-"

"No." Manny said firmly. "If Frida doesn't want me to, then I'm not going to." Frida's intense gaze softened a bit.

"But, Manny, think about-"

"I said no, Django!" Manny wiped his nose again where the bleeding had continued. Frida still didn't want him to get near her, but she was willing to do him one small favor in return for sticking up for her. She put her middle and index fingers to her lips and kissed them. They started to glow with a small blue light. She then gently placed them on Manny's nose and the bleeding instantly stopped. He looked at her with wide eyes. How did she do that?

"Leave me alone." She whispered so low, that only he could hear her.

He looked back at the other guys. "I think we should just leave her alone."

They all looked shocked. "What?!"

"Well, look at her! She obviously doesn't want us to get close to her. When she wants our help, she'll come to us." Manny gave her a smile and got up, going back to his bed.

Django looked at him and then at Frida and nodded. "You're right." He lay back down in his own bed as well.

Diego and Sergio exchanged glances. "You'd better be going somewhere with this, Rivera." Sergio said before climbing back up to the bed above Manny's.

Diego looked at Frida once more. "So…do we just leave her there?"

"She's a cat." Manny pointed out. "When cat's want to be held, they fine someone to hold them. When they don't, they don't." Diego rolled his eyes and climbed into his bed, too. Manny turned the light out. "She'll wake one of us up if she needs us."

Even in the dark room, they were all deathly aware of the glowing cat eyes that watched them as they each drifted off to sleep.

**Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

**Damn, I'm on a roll! Two chapters in one night! Sure, it's 4am but still!**

**You guys see how much I love you? I stay up until 4am writing because I hate making you wait for the next chapter. That's love, right there. **


	18. Rida Suarez?

**Wowzers! My biological clock is all messed up! I stayed up till 4am writing that darn chapter and I didn't wake up today until 4pm! Sleepy sleepy sleepy girl.**

**……………………………………………………………………………………………………….**

Manny laid awake well into the night. It wasn't because he wasn't tired. He was very tired. But he just couldn't block out the sound of Frida rolling around on the floor, still tight in the corner as far away from them as possible, holding her stomach and trying not to let anyone hear her crying. He had to hand it to her, she was very good at hiding tears. Had he not eventually changed positions in his bed so he could watch her, he never would've seen her tear soaked face. And he knew he wasn't the only one kept awake by her suffering. He was just the only one brave enough to actually look at her.

It physically pained him to see her this way. He wished there was something he could do, but every time anyone moved or made a sound, she froze and glared at them with a defensive look in her eyes, which remained cat-like all night. He wondered if it could in fact be her belt that was causing her this pain. That had to be it. What else would it be? He tried to think of a way they could get it off of her. Maybe if they waited until she was asleep…

No, that wouldn't work. Number one, it didn't look like she was going to be able to fall asleep tonight, and number two, he knew she'd sense them trying to take her belt off and instantly wake up. What if they held her down? No, he didn't want to do that to her. And even if they did, it would be pointless. She was stronger than all 4 of them put together, and Manny knew it. So, was he just supposed to sit there and watch her suffer? There had to be something he could do!

He was broken out of his thoughts when Frida slowly pulled her self to her feet. He quickly closed his eyes when she looked around the room to see if anyone was awake. Still in an unbearable amount of pain, Frida dragged her self to the door, opened it gently, and stumbled out. As soon as she was gone, Manny shot up in his bed. "Okay, I know I'm not the only one still awake." He whispered.

Django, Diego and Sergio all opened their eyes and sat up in response. "Where is she going?" Sergio asked.

Manny shrugged. "How the hell should I know?"

"Well, should we go after her?" Diego asked.

Manny looked through the screen. They could see Frida trudging into the woods. She reminded Manny of the undead people he had seen in some of the scary movies they had watched together. "I don't know."

"So, what do we do?" Django asked. Manny noticed that all three of them had panic in their voices.

"I think we should…follow her."

Django cocked an eyebrow. "But Manny, you're the one that said that when cats want to left alone, they want to be left alone. What if she-"

"Well, what do you suggest, Django?" Manny interrupted. Why the hell was everyone expecting him to know what to do? He was just a confused and panicking as they were.

Django was slightly taken aback by Manny's sharp tone. "Okay, calm down, man."

Manny looked away from him. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

Manny looked back at his friends. Well, one friend and two cabin-mates. "So, what do we think we should do?" He looked back outside. Frida had already disappeared into the woods.

"I think you should go after her." Django suggested.

Manny's eyes widened. "Me? Why?" It's not that he didn't want to go after her. He did. He just had no idea what to do once he got to her.

Django shrugged. "Well, you have the most experience dealing with dangerous kitty cats, and considering the fact that you're a kitty cat yourself-"

"Alright." Manny said. "I'll do it."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Frida staked through the woods, holding her stomach. Her head was bowed and her bangs fell over her eyes. Her mouth hung open slightly, revealing her fangs, which seemed shaper in her cat state. Looking at her from straight on, she looked like a hungry vampire. Her feline instincts had clouded her mind and all she could think about was how she wanted the pain to stop. She had no idea where she was going, but her feet seemed to know how to get there. Before to long, she came to a clearing. Although she didn't recognize it, it was the same place that Manny had confessed to her a few nights before, which she still didn't remember. She fell to her knees and finally let her tears show themselves. She lay down on her side and curled up into ball. She stared at the water, crying, for some time. She didn't know why, but something suddenly told to uncurl herself and roll over on her back, so she did. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

She lay there for awhile and eventually stopped crying, although the pain was still there and felt like it was getting worst. She wanted to know why the hell she was in this pain. She felt like someone was slowly pushing lots of knives through her. She dug her claws into the ground around her and wanted to roll over and hold herself, but something compelled her to stay on her back. Suddenly, her heart started hurting as well. She felt tears in her eyes again. Why was this happening? Then, all at once, the pain shot through her whole body, then abruptly stopped. She instantly calmed down and felt much better. She couldn't feel the ground beneath her, like she was floating. Her mind cleared as she somehow fell out of her cat state.

She felt like she was waking up from a deep sleep. She felt the ground beneath her again, except it felt so much softer now that she wasn't in so much pain. She stretched out and opened her eyes. She was flooded with bright light, but it wasn't blinding. She felt totally at ease and it didn't even occur to her where she was. She stared at the night sky and that's when she realized that she wasn't in the same place. She got very confused as the realization started to sink in. She was surrounded by a majestic essence that made her feel calm, even though she was so disorientated. When the light subsided, she sat up and looked around herself. She was sitting on a patch of grass, surrounded by a place that seemed very familiar.

'I've been here before,' she thought. She didn't know where she was, but she knew she had been there before.

"Yes, you have." Frida looked to her side and saw with much shock that she was not alone.

Sitting next to her was…_herself_?

The other Frida smiled at her. Although there was no mistaking that the other girl was definitely herself, she was somehow more graceful and peaceful looking. She had a certain angelic-ness to her. She was clean and perfectly put together, her hair shiny and silky and her fur looking soft and fluffy, as opposed to Frida, who's hair was tangled, fur was a mess and clothes were filthy from stumbling around all night. The other Frida's hair did look a bit more naturally ruffled though. And she had a scar on her arm. But it didn't take away from her breath taking beauty.

"I know you probably have a lot of questions." The other Frida said. Frida stared at her, speechless. The other Frida laughed, the sound being beautiful and melodic.

"Yeah," Frida finally said. "Those. Questions."

"Well," the other Frida started. "First off, do you recognize me?"

Frida cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, I recognize you! You're _me_!"

The other Frida laughed again. "Yeah, not exactly."

"What? Then who are…?" She stared at her. She stuck her tongue out and held up a peace sigh. In the Original La Gatita's photo album, that was the same pose that…

Frida gasped. "Rida Suarez?"

Rida smiled. "That's me." Frida gawked at her, not knowing what to think.

"Am I dreaming?"

Rida shrugged. "Kinda, sorta, not really."

"What the…?"

Rida put her hand on Frida's shoulder. It was warm and comforting. "Let me explain." She sighed, looked up at the sky and said out loud to herself, "How do I say this?"

Frida was so confused. She had so many questions, but she didn't want to interrupt her dead ancestor.

Wait a minute…

As if reading her mind, Rida looked back at Frida and smiled. "Yeah, you're dead."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………**.**

**Kinda leaves you on the edge of your seat, doesn't it? **

**Muwahahaha! that's right! I did it! I MURDERED LA GATITA! (I'm the dingo that ate your baby!)**


	19. Those darn hunters

**Greetings, my loyal readers. I greatly apologize for the long wait, but the stupid system restricted me from uploading because of some stupid fic I made like two years ago that broke a lousy rule. And then I've been busy because I volleyball is starting back up, and school is right around the corner and a stupid case of writers block and blah, blah, blah…**

**Btw, after watching The Cuervo Project a few times, my sure it will come as a big shock when I say I don't hate Zoe anymore. I still hate the idea of Zoe and Manny, but I no longer hate Zoe. She made me laugh. So did Oso, but I never hated him.**

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Yeah, you're dead."

Frida assumed a gust of wind must have blown by her ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. What?"

Rida laughed. "Dead as a doorknob."

Frida still was sure she had misheard her. "I'm sorry, but if you could just repeat that one more time?"

"You're dead, honey." Rida stated firmly.

Frida's eye's widened. She…was dead? She couldn't be dead! I mean, she knew she was in pain, but it wasn't _that_ much pain…was it? And if she was really dead, how did it happen? Did she have a heart attack? Did something happen to her that she didn't remember? _What_?!

"Now, I know you have a lot of questions." Rida said. "And I'll will be happy to answer them all."

Frida gawked a bit before finding her voice. "I'm _dead_?! How am I _dead_? When did this happen? What's-?"

Rida stopped her. "Okay, okay, just relax."

"_RELAX_?! I just found out I'm dead, and your telling me to relax?!" Frida snapped. She felt like she was missing something. Not about her mysterious death, but emotionally, she was feeling something she didn't expect to feel. Or rather she _wasn't_ feeling what she expected to feel. She wasn't the least bit angry or panicky.

Rida laughed again. "Yes, it's true that you're dead. But don't worry. I'm going to put you back."

Frida looked at her ancestor, confused. "What?"

Rida got up gracefully, held her hand out to her descendant, and said, "Walk with me, talk with me." Now that she was standing up, Frida saw that her was longer than it looked when she was sitting.

Frida took Rida's hand. She expected it to be cold, considering the fact that she was dead. But it when her skin touched Rida's, she felt a very comforting warmth. Almost like that of her mother's.

"I thought dead people were cold." She said without thinking. Rida looked at her with one eyebrow cocked, but still smiling. "Sorry."

Rida giggled. "Yes…we are." Frida tilted her head in confusion. "You're dead now, too, Hon. We're the same temperature. To mortals, we do feel cold. But to each other, we're fine. Especially sense we're family." She smiled comforting at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "And you and I share a bond that exists no where else. We're both La Gatita's. We're like soul sisters. And not the bratty kind that always fight, either." They both laughed.

She led her across the open valley in which the small patch of grass was that they had been sitting on. Everything around it was rock. "You recognize this place because you were here once with Manny. Remember Dias de los Muertos 2 years ago?"

Frida recalled that day very well. They had met all of Manny's super macho ancestors, as well as getting to meet the original El Tigre, Miguel Rivera. Which reminded Frida…

"Which reminds me, are you still best friends with Miguel? I met him, you know. Cool dude." Rida's smile vanished. Frida saw her glance at the scars on her forearm.

"I… The last time I saw him was… when I died." She said quietly. She looked at Frida. "I bet you're probably wondering how that happened, too, huh?"

Frida nodded. "Sorta." As the came to the edge of the rocky valley, Frida saw that they were on a cliff. Not to far away, she saw the little town that she had visited when she had been there with Manny. Rida led her to a ledge where they walked down toward the bottom of the cliff.

"Well," Rida started. "Do you want the long story or the short story?" Frida looked at her, saying with her eyes 'whadda ya think?'. "Long story. Gotcha. Well, it happened alittle something like this. Miguel and I were minding our own business when someone attacked us, so I went all kitty-cat berserk, Miguel tried to stop me from killing them, I attacked him, I tried to stop myself by attacking myself, and I died." She smiled.

Frida looked confused. "That's the long story? And who attacked you?"

Rida chuckled. "Oh, you must want the _really_ long story. Hehehe. And to answer your question…well…I may have…picked up a few enemies in my cat state."

"Enemies?" They came to the end of the ledge and began their hike to the little town.

"More like a 100,000 dollar reward for anyone who could catch me. I wasn't exactly a town favorite…well, I _was_… but when I started losing control of myself…" She stopped. Frida patiently waited for her to continue. "I obviously didn't mean to…but I…" She looked down at her feet. "Attacked people. I couldn't help it. I just got so mad, that I lost it. My temper was really bad. The most ridiculous, little things would set me off. I know that's no excuse, but…" She looked up at Frida. "I literally had no control over myself. Miguel was the only one that knew that."

Frida didn't say anything. She knew what Rida was talking about. The feeling of being in the cat state. It felt awesome to have all that power at your disposal, and it was terrifying when you realized you had no control over yourself.

"They said I was more animal than human. And…they were basically right." Rida looked back toward the little town. "It'll make more sense once you hear the story…"

……………………**flashback……………………(They are El Tigre and La Gatita the whole time in this)………………**

"Miguel, where are we going?" Rida Suarez asked. With one hand over her eyes and the other holding her hand, Miguel Rivera led her through the trees, not allowing her to see where he was taking her.

"You'll see." He chuckled. After a few more steps, he stopped and removed his hand. "Tada!"

Rida looked around the area and smiled. Only she could appreciate a large, empty place in the woods that was far outside the border of Miracle City where she didn't have to hide from all the bounty hunters, police, and regular people who tried to sneak up on her and hit her over the head with a vase, hoping to collect the 100,000 dollar reward for her capture. She turned to him.

"You're awesome," she said. They didn't really have set labels for each other. They knew they were in love with each other, but for some reason, the title of "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" felt weird after having been best friends since they were little.

Miguel shrugged. "I figured you'd like some time away from it all." He smiled that heart-melting smile of his. "Some time to relax."

Rida smiled at him. Miguel had set up a little picnic for the two of them. It wasn't much, but the fact that he would even try made Rida happy. They stayed there for hours, talking and laughing.

Suddenly, Rida's ears perked up and twitched. "What's wrong?" Miguel asked. She 'shh'ed him and listened. Her eyes widen and she tackled Miguel, just barely knocking him out of the way of the on coming bullet.

"What the…?" He said. He looked in the direction it had come from and saw a small group of people.

Hunters.

"Great." Rida said. "Amateurs with big guns." She jumped to her feet and looked around them, realizing they were surrounded.

"Rida Suarez!" one of them said.

"What?!" She said, annoyed that her perfect afternoon had been interrupted.

"We'll give you the option. You can come quietly, or-"

No one even saw her move. Rida was instantly less than a foot in front of the guy. "You are in no position to be threatening _me_." She said dangerously. The man's first reaction was to back up and aim his gun at her. She easily knocked it out of his hands.

Miguel was starting to get anxious. He knew it didn't take much to get Rida wild up, and this was exactly the kind of thing that did it. He could already sense her growing anger. "Rida." He said. "Don't lose your cool."

She turned to him. He was relived to see her eyes were not yet cat-like. "Don't worry about me." Another man behind her tried to sneak up behind her with a knife, but she casually punched him in the face before he could get to her.

"Miguel Rivera," another one said. "Unless you want us to eliminate you as well, you will stay out of this, and back off."

Miguel turned to the man. "I'd like to see you try."

"Very well." He said. "Men, fire at will!" All at once, bullets went flying through the air. Had it been anyone else, they would have been dead already. But Rida and Miguel missed every shot, although it was alittle difficult. Rida was used to being shot at from all sides.

"Cease fire!" The apparent leader yelled. The shots instantly stopped and everyone waited for the smoke to clear. Everyone had heard it. The sound of a bullet hitting someone.

Rida stood there, not moving, horrified. She didn't need the smoke to clear to see what had happened. As it settled, the hunters looked at the scene before them.

Miguel was on his knees, bent over, holding his shoulder where he had been hit.

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**Dun dun dun! Sorry, but you know how I am with cliffhangers! I was actually going to end this chapter with the end of Rida's story, but I decided that I didn't want to keep you waiting to long. I really wanted to get this chapter up. **


	20. Rida's death

**I don't know why it's taking me so long to update. I'm usually right there the next day! Probably because of volleyball, which I have every morning. Ugh.**

**By the way, I realize that if you do the math, this is happening over 200 years ago. I have no idea how this would've gone down 200 years ago, so were ignoring the fact that they should be in powdered wigs, okay?**

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Rida was mortified. Before she knew what had happened, she was on top of the man who had shot Miguel and had her claws sunk into his shoulders. The other hunters tried to help the man, but a bright gold light suddenly blinded them, the sound of the man's painful screams filled the air.

Miguel saw the sparks of electricity coming from Rida. Looking down at his wound, he did the first thing he could think of. He held his breath and stuck his claws into his shoulder and pulled the bullet out. Hissing in pain, he firmly held his hand over the wound and pulled himself to his feet. He was lucky to have superpowers. The bullet hole had already stopped bleeding.

"Rida!" he yelled over the screams of her victim and the sound of electricity buzzing. She didn't stop shocking him.

"Open fire!" the lead hunter yelled.

"But, sir, what if we hit-?"

"It'd be a peaceful way to go compared to what _she's_ going to do to him!"

Through the light, Miguel saw Rida's ears perk up. As the hunters were just about to resume shooting, the shocking stopped and Rida was gone. The man on the ground lay motionless in a bloody puddle that was growing by the second. One of the hunters ran over and knelt down next to him. His eyes widened when he saw his neck and he turned to his leader.

"She bit him." He said grimly.

Miguel gasped. The leader bowed his head, fists clenched. "Another innocent victim of that…that _feline's_ wrath!"

"Innocent, was he?"

The hunters anxiously searched for the owner of the cat-like voice. Suddenly, Rida was in front of the lead hunter. He stared in horror at glowing, red cat eyes before him. She grabbed him by the throat and backed him up against a tree. Gasping for air, he yelled. "Shoot her, you fools, shoot her!"

But the other hunters stood there and watched, all of them to scared to do anything. Truth be told, they had never done something this dangerous before. Rida was right when she said 'Amateurs with big guns.' Watching their leader at claws end of the deadliest cat in Miracle City, they were just now realizing that they had no chance of winning this fight.

Rida's fangs were about 3 inches away from the hunter's throat, when she was suddenly side tackled. Confused but not complaining, he stumbled off the tree and grabbed his gun, which Rida had been knocked out of his hands.

Miguel had Rida pinned to the ground. He turned to the hunters. "If you don't wanna risk her biting you, I suggest you leave!" They didn't need to be told twice. In seconds, they were all long gone. But now Miguel had another problem.

Rida struggled against his grasp. He tried as hard as he could to keep her down, but having one bad arm, she easily pulled away from him and kicked him off. He landed flat on his back, at least 6 feet away. He hissed in pain and sat up, holding his injured shoulder. He opened his eyes and was immediately pounced on. Rida pinned him to the ground, growling loudly as she did so. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for whatever she might do.

This wasn't the first time she attacked him while in her cat state. She had shocked him, scratched him, burned him, punched him, kicked him, and done a number of other painful things as well. All of which she wanted to kill herself for afterwards, when she was out of her cat state. But she had never bitten him. He never said anything about it. He knew that it wasn't her fault and that she would never do something like that to him intentionally. She couldn't stand to hurt him. He also knew how lethal her cat state was. Which is why it confused him when he felt her claws brush up against his neck. And that's all they did. Brush.

He opened his eyes and looked at her. Her bangs hung over her eyes, making it impossible to read her expression. Her mouth was slightly open, revealing her fangs. The hand that brushed his neck moved to simple lie on his shoulder. She didn't move for at least a good few seconds.

"Rida?" Miguel whispered. She tilted her head slightly, causing her hair to move. Her eyes were closed and she looked almost pained. He tried again. "Rida?"

Her eyes shot opened, red and cat-like. She looked at him and growled. He gasped when she lowered her fangs to his throat. Not knowing, what else to do, he kicked her off of him. She landed gracefully on her feet, not the least bit shaken. Miguel jumped up, holding his shoulder, and staggered backwards. Rida was low to the ground, ready to attack. She lunged at him, swiping with her claws. Thinking quickly, Miguel swiped with his own claws and caught her hands with his, interlacing their fingers.

"Rida, snap out of it!" He yelled. Rida looked at their hands and then at Miguel, and smiled evilly. It confused him, but when he looked down at their fingers, his eyes widened and he tried to pull his hands away, but he couldn't. The next thing he knew, he felt an unbearable amount of pain shoot up his arms and flow through the rest of his body as they were both consumed by the same bright light and electric sparks as earlier. He tried again to pull away, but it was no use. Rida had him.

The pain was too much for him to take. The light subsided as Rida stopped her shocking and let go of him. He dropped to him knees and then fell on his back, panting. Rida was top of him again and pinned him down. And she once again lowered her fangs to his throat. But this time, he was too weak to kick her off.

But just before they broke his skin, she froze. He forgot how to breathe, and even if he hadn't, he was too scared to anyway. He could feel her teeth on his neck and her hot breath on his skin. Rida's hand snaked up to the side of his face. Before he knew what she was doing, she had sunken her fangs into her own arm instead.

Blood trickled down onto Miguel's neck. Rida made no noise or movement, and he was to stunned to do anything at all. Rida lifted her head, fangs still in her arm, and some more blood dripped into Miguel's face. But he still did nothing. He wanted to stop her, but he found himself incapable of movement, and his voice was long since lost. All he could think about was why on Earth would she be doing this?

She rolled off of him and released her bite on her arm. And just stood there. Miguel slowly sat up. "Rida?"

She threw her arms around the closest tree and sunk her claws into it. Breathing heavily, she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against it. Miguel pulled himself to his feet, slowly walked up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her. She tensed up, by he didn't let go. When she tried to push him away, he still didn't let go. Her struggles just made him hold her tighter. Eventually, she stopped struggling and just stood there.

Then, without warning, she disappeared in a sparkly blue puff of smoke. Miguel looked around for her, and instantly spun around when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Rida punched him in the face and watched as he staggered backward. He held his hand to his face, hissing in pain. When he looked up, Rida lunged at him, claws flexed. He closed his eyes and braced himself. She threw her arms around him, but he never felt her claws. He looked down and saw her leaning against him. She was tense, so he knew she had sunken her claws into something, but if not him, then…?

He pushed her down and pinned her to the ground, causing her to release him. Her arms were badly bleeding from three large gashes on each one.

He hated when she did this. Hurt herself to keep from hurting him. When it first started happening, he thought that he could take a hit a lot better than she could. That was the slightly sexist side of him coming out. But eventually, he saw how wrong he was. Things that would send him to the hospital made her ask for a Band-Aid. And the fact the she healed ten times faster didn't hurt either.

Rida growled loudly and thrashed around under him. "Rida!" he yelled, be she didn't respond. Then a thought came to him.

He released her arm to hold her face still, looked into her wild, cat-like eyes, and firmly pressed his lips to hers.

She yelped against his mouth in shock, and instantly stopped moving. After a few minutes, he pulled after from her. He sighed with disappointment when he saw that her eyes didn't change.

But they did.

They were still narrow cat-slits, but they were different. He saw something in them that he hadn't seen before. Something about them had changed to make them look…different.

Without warning, Rida yanked her wrists away, threw her arms around Miguel's neck, and pulled him back down to her, kissing him again.

He kissed back with all the love he had. He hoped he could get past the Cat State and get his Rida back. He broke away from her, got up, pulled her to her feet, and threw his arms around her. That's what usually 'woke her up', so to speak. He would hold her, and she'd usually 'wake up'. She purred against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. They stood there for a long time, just holding each other. Rida did nothing, and made no attempt to attack him again, so he assumed she had woken up.

You never assume when it comes to cats.

Rida started shivering. Miguel assumed it was because she was cold. It was starting to get late.

"Hey," he whispered in her ear. "Wanna head home?" She tightened her grip on him, but said nothing. Her hand snaked up his back and rested on the back of his neck. He held her tighter, too. Against his chest, one tear escaped Rida's closed eyes. She opened them, revealing the now glowing, red, cat eyes, which Miguel couldn't see. Her hand lingered on his neck, literally twitching to sink her claws into it.

And then she did it.

Miguel stood there, wide-eyed and breathless, as he realized what had just happened. Rida remained leaning on him, more tears escaping her eyes. Slowly, she pulled her claws out of her chest, and it wasn't until she saw her own blood on her hand that she dropped to her knees, and then fell.

"RIDA!!" Instantly awoken from his shock, Miguel dropped to his knees and scooped her up, cradling her in his arms, praying that she would be alright. She slowly opened her eyes, which were finally back to normal.

"Why did you do that?!" Miguel demanded. Tears began to form in his eyes as well.

"I almost killed you just now." She said weakly. "Better me than you."

"You idiot!" He yelled. "Don't think that! We've gotta get you-!"

Rida put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't bother. I'm not going to let myself heal this time. There's already been too much blood spilled by my claws. The world would be better off without me." Her eyes slipped shut.

"Rida!" Miguel shook her. "Oh God, Rida, stay with me!"

"I'm still here."

"Rida," the tears fell from his eyes. "Don't leave me. I love you." He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Rida, please, I love you so much."

She smiled. "I love you, to-" And her breath stopped.

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**Tragic, I know. It even made ME sad! By the way, I greatly apologize for the long wait. But I've just been really busy with volleyball, and I've been doing a lot of art lately, and the fact that my crappy, dekrepate, stupid computer deleted this chapter so I had to rewrite the whole damn thing didn't help either. I've got a picture of ****Rida and Frida that I'll put on my page on DA. I'd tell you that it should be up tomorrow, but every time I say that, something happens so I can't post anything….dang it. **

**I'll get to work on the next chapter.**


	21. Rida's gift

Okay, I drew another picture called 'Manny's photo album of Love

**Oh my God, I actually was able to get the pictures up! Yayness!**

**Btw…I COMMAND YOU ALL TO START REVIEWING OR ELSE I SHALL DISCONTINUE THIS STORY!! **

**I'm just kidding. I wouldn't really discontinue this story…But still, review, Dammit!! I need to know that people are still interested and reading this story!!**

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Frida waited until she was sure her ancestor was finished speaking. "Wow," she said. "That's so romantic. But at the same time, so tragic."

Rida nodded. "Yeah, it was." She said. "You can ask questions now."

Frida got excited. She had about a million lined up. "Okay, first question. You _shocked _the dude?"

Rida smiled deviously. She gave Frida's hand a gently squeeze and she felt a shock go up her arm. "Awesome!" she said. She looked like she had another question.

"Yes, you can do that, too." Rida answered, already knowing what the question was. "It's just one of the many powers you have that you having tapped into yet."

"Really? What else is there?"

Rida chuckled, shaking her head. "The list goes on and on. You'll get the hang of it. I'll show you later. Next question."

Frida thought for a moment. "Okay, so you _bit_ the guy…and he died? We don't have, like, poison fangs, do we?"

Rida shook her head. "Nope. I…_we_ just instinctively know where to bite someone to make them bleed to death. And lemme tell ya, it doesn't take that long."

"Dang. Okay, next question. We heal, like, ten times faster than normal people do, right?" Rida nodded. "And we can take a hit, right?"

"Damn right, we can."

"So you got clawed in the chest _one time, _and you die?"

Rida smiled. "You catch on quick. Normally, I would've healed like that." She snapped her fingers. "But I didn't _let_ myself heal. At the time, I was convicted that the world would be better off without me…"

"…at the time?"

"Girl, that was over 200 years ago! I was young and reckless. Now, I'm _old_ and reckless." She said proudly. They both laughed. "Now I think the world would've been better off without everyone else!" They laughed again. "They were all to stupid to realize that if they would just leave me the hell alone, I wouldn't have gotten angry and attacked them."

"That makes sense." Frida said. She looked down at Rida's scars. "So I guess you got those from scratching yourself, huh?" Rida didn't say anything. Frida slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh God, I'm sorry. Are you sensitive about that?"

Rida looked at her, her expression saying 'What, are you kidding me?' "Honey, if you had these scars," she held her arms up. "Would you be _sensitive_ about them?"

Frida looked at them. "No. I think they're cool looking."

"Exactly. I'm not _sensitive_ about my scars. I _love_ my scars! They're my battle scars!" They laughed.

They finally came to the entrance to the little town. As the lights hit them properly, Frida noticed a few things about Rida that she had missed before. Instead of gold like Frida's, Rida's fur was blue, matching their hair. And she had a black choker around her neck with a sparkly, red guitar charm on it. "Oh my God, I _love_ that guitar necklace!" she said.

Rida's eyes widened. "Oh man, thanks for reminding me!" She ran back to the open valley out side the town, pulling Frida with her. "I totally forgot to show you this!" She pulled the guitar charm off of her necklace and threw it high up into the air. It began to glow and then suddenly poofed.

"What was that? That was a cute charm." Frida said.

"Just watch." Out of the smoke, a much larger version of the tiny guitar came flying out and floated down next to Rida. She jumped on it, standing on it like a snowboard. She pulled Frida in behind her. "You might want to sit down. And I suggest holding on tight."

"For whaAHHHH!!" The guitar took off into the sky. Frida clung to Rida's leg and heard her laugh at her reaction. They flew high into the sky at a very high speed.

"Look down!" Rida shouted over the roar of the wind. Frida did and gasped. The view was amazing! She could miles around and the little town below them looked so small. Once she got over the feeling that she was going to fall, she realized how much fun she was having.

"This is awesome!"

"I know!" Rida landed the guitar outside the gates of the little town. Frida stumbled off.

"That. Was. Awesome!" She said, alittle dazed.

"Hell, yeah it is." Rida said. "Close your eyes." Frida did as she was told and she heard Rida pulled something out of her pocket. She then felt something around her neck. Her eyes shot open and she felt the little guitar around her neck.

"I get one, too?!" She asked, excitedly.

"'Course." Unable to hold in her excitement, Frida threw her arms around Rida.

"Thank you thank you thank you!!" Rida laughed and hugged her back.

"A magic flying guitar is much more fun than some lousy old jetpack, huh?"

"Hell, yes it is." But the word 'jetpack' reminded her of someone. Someone who was still alive. "Hey, that reminds me. I'm dead, right? But you said something about 'putting me back'?" She quoted the air with her fingers.

Rida chuckled. "Don't even worry about that. I always clean up after myself. I killed you, and I'll bring you back to life." She smiled. "Another one of my awesome powers."

"Wait, wait, wait. _You_ killed me?"

"I had to. I needed to talk to you, and the only way to do that was to bring you here, and the only way to bring you here was to kill you. You know how in movies, a dead person will talk to a not dead person through their dreams?" Frida nodded. "Yeah, it don't really work that way. But, like I said, I'll bring you back to life, so don't stress about it." Rida thought for a moment. "You know, I don't like the way that sounds. I didn't actually _kill_ you, per say. Actually what I did was more like pull you out of your body."

"Wait, so you were the reason I was in so much pain?"

Rida sighed. "Oh, c'mon! It was, like, less than 2 seconds! You're tough, you can handle that."

Frida looked confused. "What are you talking about? I was in an unbearable amount of pain all night."

Rida cocked an eyebrow. "All night?" Frida nodded. "Well, that wasn't me."

"Then, what was it?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, shug." ('Shug' short for 'sugar')

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Manny ran threw the woods following Frida scent. Before long, he came to an all too familiar clearing by the water. He saw Frida lying on her back not too far away. Just to be on the safe side, he hid behind a tree. Then once he established that she wasn't going to notice him and attack, he slowly made his way towards her. He saw that her eyes were closed and she wasn't moving. He wondered if she could be asleep. When he got closer, he saw that she wasn't breathing.

"Frida!" He ran to her, scooped her up and pulled her into his lap. He held her chest and panicked when he could find no heart beat.

"Frida, wake up!" He gave her CPR, praying that he wasn't to late. Her body made no response. Her skin was cold and pale. Manny felt tears come to his eyes. She couldn't be…

……………………………………………

Frida and Rida walked through the streets of the little town, discussing the possibilities of Frida's mysterious suffering.

"Did I have a heart attack?"

"No. You couldn't of. Do you honestly think some lousy heart attack could take down the legendary La Gatita?" They both laughed.

Suddenly, Frida stopped. "What's wrong?"

"I feel strange." She looked like she was going to be sick.

"…what kind of strange?"

"I feel…tingly." She had a tingling feeling all over her body.

Rida sighed. "Dammit! That means we're out of time! The tingly feeling is someone touching your body. We need to get you back now! And I still had so many things to talk to you about."

"Well, You know what Miguel told Manny before he left? He said he'd always be with him here and here." She pointed to head and to her heart.

Rida cocked an eyebrow. "That's real pretty and everything, but you forget that Miguel's crazier than a drunk guy on Friday night happy hour."

"That's true."

Pulling Frida with her, she ran back to the front of the little town, pulling her charm off and throwing it up as she went. It flowed down next to her and she jumped on it, flying up and leaving Frida on the ground.

"HEY!!" Frida shouted.

"This would be a good time to try your out!" Rida shouted back.

Frida felt the charm around her neck. Pulling it off, she threw it up, as Rida had done. It poofed into a larger one and came down to get her. She jumped on it, sitting at first, and sped off after Rida. Now that she didn't have Rida's legs to cling to, she was alittle sketchy about flying alone. But eventually, she got braver and jumped to her feet, finding that that was a much easier way to fly. Rida flew down next to her.

"Easier than it looks, huh?"

"Yeah. Hey, why didn't we fly instead of walking down that cliff?"

Rida chuckled. "I was telling you the story and talking and flying at the same time make me air sick after awhile."

Frida smirked. "Okay, why did we even go down there in the first place if we just had to come right back up here?"

"I wanted to show you something, but your stupid boyfriend found your body so we ran out of time."

Frida blushed. "Manny's not my boyfriend!" She said defensively. Rida laughed. "And how do you know it Manny that found me?"

"You said you felt tingly. That's because you love him. If you were touched by someone you don't love, you'd feel cold."

They landed next to the patch of grass. Rida held her arms out for a hug, which Frida gave her. "Well, this is good bye. For now. Any last minute questions?"

"Why is your fur blue and mine's gold?"

"You know how someone can be born a blonde and grow up to be a brunette?" Frida nodded. "You just haven't grown into your color yet. Now you have to go." And Rida snapped her fingers.

...

Frida slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she realized was that someone was holding her. The second thing she realized was that someone was crying. The third thing she realized was that crying someone was Manny.

...

**Urg! I had this chapter done last night but then the stupid computer crashed and deleted it! So I had to rewrite this one too!! Man, I need a laptop.**


	22. I said don't worry

**OMG!! DAMN THIS LOUSY COMPUTER OF MINE TO BURN IN THE FIREY PITS OF HELL!! I was like half way done with this chapter and it freakin' deleted it AGAIN!! Yes, this is a rewrite. This is the third freakin' time this has happened!!**

**Not cool, dudes. Not cool.**

**Btw, is it just me or does it seem like this story has taken a bad turn? I don't know why, but I feel like it's gone in a weird direction. You know how sometimes, you can love a stories beginning, but hate the ending? That's what I feel like is going on here. I'll try to kick it back in a good direction. **

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Although his tears were semi-silent, there was no doubt in Frida's mind that he was in fact crying. And not only because she could read his emotions, but mainly because she could feel him. He had her squeezed pretty tight to him. She was even in his lap, for God's sake. "Manny?"

Manny felt the warmth return to her body. His ears perked up when he heard his name and looked down at Frida. He was overjoyed to see two very familiar, very _alive_ eyes staring up at him. "Frida?" He wondered if he could be dreaming. Part of him hoped he was, due to the fact that he didn't particularly want Frida to see him crying. She smiled up at him and threw her arms around his neck, and he knew that he was very much awake.

If it was even possible, he pulled her even tighter to him. "Frida, oh man, thank God you're alive!" He pulled away to look her in the eye, but he didn't let her go. "What happened to you?"

"I…" Suddenly, Frida heard Rida's voice in her head. '_Don't tell him.'_ "I…don't know."

'_Why can't I tell him?'_

'_I'll explain later. But right now, just enjoy your time with your man.'_

'_He's not my-!'_

'_Whatever.'_ And her voice was gone. Frida looked up at Manny, who was looking at her with concern filled eyes. She suddenly realized how exhausted she was. Dying and coming back to life all in the same hour really took a lot out of her. She leaned her head on Manny's chest.

"Hey," he whispered, stroking her hair. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just…worn out."

"Worn out? How can you be worn out? You just woke up. I mean, you…you were dead!"

Her eyes shot open. "I was what now?" She knew she had been dead, but alittle acting never hurt anyone…except Macbeth, but he's not in this story, now is he?

"Yeah, you weren't breathing, you didn't have a pulse, you were dead!"

"Is that why you were crying?" She said softly. She hoped to God that Rida wasn't in her head at that moment, because she suddenly had a burning desire to kiss Manny.

He blushed. "I…well, uh…yeah." She knew he had been crying, so he knew there was no point pretending he wasn't.

She smiled and snuggled closer to him, if that was even possible. "Thank you." She suddenly hissed in pain. She wasn't in the excruciating pain she was in earlier, but now she was sore.

Manny looked down at her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just alittle sore," she yawned. "And tired." Without a word, Manny slid his hand under her knees, scooped her up, and started walking toward the cabin.

His actions took Frida by surprise. She blushed slightly. "I can walk."

"I don't think that's such a wise idea." He said, matter-o-factly. They went in silence. Frida was to shy to say anything, and Manny couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't result in one or both of them feeling extremely awkward. As the cabin came into sight, they saw that the others had stayed up, anxiously awaiting their arrival. When they came in, Sergio and Diego instantly flooded them with questions.

"What happened?"

"Is she okay?"

"What took so long?"

Django saved them. "Guys, guys, take it easy! Give Frida some air!"

"Thank you, Django." Manny said and set Frida down on his bed. She rolled onto her side and curled up, wrapping her tail around her. She didn't know why, but she felt better lying that way. She looked across at Django, who was watching her carefully.

"You alright, Kitten?" he asked. She nodded.

'_Django!' _Frida could hear Rida's voice in her head again. She sounded happy to see him.

'_How do you know he's here?'_

'_I'm seeing through your eyes. What ever you see, I see.' _Rida said. _'But this trick takes a lot of my energy, so I can't stay with you for much longer. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.'_

'_Thank you.' _

'_You can't tell Manny, but you can tell Django. Just tell him not to tell anyone else.' _And Rida's voice was gone again.

'Do I have to?' Frida thought, knowing there was no longer anyone there to hear her. 'Eh, I'll do it later.' Frida didn't even realize that she was nodding off.

"Getting' sleepy there, kitty cat?" Django asked. Frida nodded.

Manny suddenly seemed to get alittle antsy. "Um…Diego, you're a doctor, right?"

"Yes, I think we're established that I am a doctor. Why?"

"Can you take a look at her?" Manny couldn't believe what he was asking one of his enemies to do, but he was alittle anxious about Frida and Diego was, after all, a doctor…sorta.

"Sure I can!" Diego said happily. He walked over to her, and then turned back to Manny. "So what am I looking at exactly?"

"Guys, when I found her…she was…dead."

"WHAT?!" Came three responses at once.

Django looked almost offended. "Why didn't you com get me?!"

"I don't know!" Manny said, getting defensive. "I panicked! I didn't know what to do, and then she just came back to life all of the sudden!"

Diego looked back at Frida, who had her eyes closed, but was still listening. "I think death would be more of your department, Django."

"Ya damn right, it is." Django got up from his bed and placed his hand on Frida's face. She shivered at his cold touch. After a moment, he chuckled. The others had no idea what was going on, but Frida sure did. Django and Rida were having a silent conversation through her, and she could hear all of it.

'_Django! I missed you!'_

'_Rida? Dang, girl, it's been way to long! What have you been up to?'_

'_Oh, you know, keeping my eye on this one.' _Frida knew she was referring to her.Django laughed.

'_So, what happened with that dying thing?'_

'_Oh, I just brought her down here for awhile. I had some things I needed to talk to her about. She's perfectly fine. Don't worry. Oh, and don't tell the others'_

'_Glad to hear it. And, don't worry, I won't.' _And Django pulled his hand away. "She's fine."

"But she was dead!" Sergio pointed out.

"I said she's fine. Don't worry about it." And he jumped back on to his bed.

Manny crawled onto his own bed and lay down beside Frida. They had slept in the same bed so many times already, that by now, nether one of them thought twice about it. Django said not to worry, but worrying all he did, all night.

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**Wow…I'm appalled by my own suck-ish-ness. Let's call this a fill in the blanks chapter, shall we? **


	23. Another Nightmare

**Okay, well, based on the reviews I'm getting, this story has **_**not**_** gone in a bad direction, which is good.**

**Don't know why I'm pointing this out, but Rida's death was a lot less dramatic than I hoped it would be…oh well. **

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Django continuously told Manny that there was nothing to worry about, but when Manny asked how he knew that, he was unsatisfied with his reply, which was, "I just do." Based off of the strange event he had witnessed when Django had placed his hand on Frida's head, he was convinced that Django and Frida knew something that he didn't, and wasn't happy that they weren't sharing.

Manny continued to worry about Frida, not only because he had found her dead, but also because she hadn't said two words to him since she woke up. Throughout the day, she would stare off into space. She didn't speak unless she was spoken to, and even then, her responses were short and dull. And for some reason, she seemed to be keeping her distance from him, and sticking closer to Django instead. Manny couldn't stop wondering about what had happened to her. He was sure she had been dead. He even considered the possibility that the Frida he saw before him right now wasn't the real Frida and that Django was lying. He had betrayed him once already. Who's to saw he wouldn't do it again?

But Manny dismissed that theory. Something told him that this was in fact his Frida. There was nothing there to back up his conclusion though. In fact, there was more evidence pointing towards his previous theory that this was some kind of clone or zombie. Her skin was paler than usual, her posture was almost lifeless, and her eyes seemed to be glazed over with…nothingness.

**…**

Ever since she woke up, Frida had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she barely said two words to anybody. She had had a dream last night. A bad one. In her dream, she saw herself in the Cat State, mindlessly killing everybody she loved. Starting with her own family and working her way to the Riveras. She had tried to interject, only to find out that she couldn't move. She was simply an audience to her own destruction. That's when she realized that she _wasn't_ watching herself. She was watching Gatita, who was just using her body. She broke into tears when Gatita easily finished off Rodolpho and Puma and then started after Manny. Just as she was about to sink her fangs into his throat, Frida woke up in a cold sweat, her face drenched in tears. Since then, she hadn't engaged in any conversations or activities. She was to busy trying to make heads or tails of her dream. After a dream like that, she wanted to be close to Manny, but for some reason, she had the feeling that she was going to hurt him, so she kept her distance as much as possible, sticking closer to Django instead. She was glad that it was _just_ a dream, but she was scared that it _was_ a dream. One of the things Rida had told her was that if she had any strange dreams involving the Cat State, it meant something. She was scared to find out what a dream like that meant. That's when Frida remembered the other dream she had a few nights ago. The one where Manny told her that he hated her and she bit him. She was horrified to realize that both dreams had the exact same scene. She had Manny pinned to something, holding him by his throat, and bit him. She wondered if that was what it meant. Was she going to bite Manny?

**…**

By lunchtime, Manny was fed up with this silly guessing game. He wanted to know what was going on, and he wanted Frida to tell him. As he walked into the cafeteria, he saw that Frida and Django were already there, and he was outraged to see Frida's lips moving. Which meant that she was talking. Oh, so she would talk to _Django_ but not to _him_? _He_ was her best friend, _he_ had known her all his life, and, hell, _he_ was the one who found her dead! But then he noticed something he had missed. Frida looked…scared. Her ears weren't all the way down, but they weren't at their usual height, she had her arms tight crossed and her eyes looked almost pleading. As Manny made his way toward them, he saw her ears perk in his direction and she instantly stopped talking. The action hurt him alittle. He took his usually seat next to her.

"What's up, Django?" Manny asked in a said attempt to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Not much. You?"

"Nothin' really."

Wow. That was pathetic. So much for breaking the silence. Finally, Manny turned to Frida. "Hey, um, Frida?"

Her head twitched in his direction, like she was going to look at him but changed her mind and kept her eyes glued to the table. "Hmm?"

"Can I talk to you?"

Oh, God, no! He wanted to talk! Which meant he wanted to know something. Probably something that she couldn't tell him.

"Umm…I… guess." Curse the consequence of not wanting to hurt his feelings. He smiled slightly as he got up and walked out the door, followed by a less enthusiastic Frida. Once outside, she crossed her hers and turned away from him, avoiding eye contact at all costs. "So," she said. "What's up?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." Dammit! Okay, she set herself up for that one.

"Que?" Never before had she been so thankful of the fact that she was an expert at pretending she had no idea what someone was talking about.

"Are you okay?" Manny's eyes were filled with genuine concern. Frida quickly looked away from them.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" Dang! She just set herself up again!

"You've just been acting really…strange."

"I said I'm fine." It came up sounding a bit harsh, but at the moment, she didn't care. She didn't know why, but she was starting to get angry. And that scared her.

"No, you're not." She felt tears form in her eyes. She'd die again before she let him see her cry for no apparent reason. "Frida, I know you. Something's going on. What is it?"

"God, you're nosey!" she said. She was going to avoid that topic by any means necessary, and if being mean did it, then that was what she was going to do…however much she hated herself for it.

Manny's ears went back at her sharp tone. "I'm just worried about you."

"Well, don't be. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you were…dead. And ever since then, you just seem…Frida, I know something's going on. What is it?"

"Why do you need to know?!" Now she _was_ angry. And that was bad.

"I just want to help you." Manny wondered why she was getting so defensive. Now he knew there was definitely something wrong.

"I don't need your help. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can."

"Good."

"But I'm still worried about you."

"Jesus, Manny! What is your deal?! I said I can handle myself! I don't need you to worry about me!" She turned her back to him.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Stop telling me your okay, because a know your not. You know you can tell me anything, right?"

She shrugged his hand off. "There's nothing to tell! I said I'm fine, alright?! For God's sake, just leave me alone." She didn't go back inside, but instead headed toward the river. She felt horrible about yelling at him, but better verbally than physically. She'd apologize later, once she had her head straightened out. Only once she was sure he couldn't see her did she let her tears fall.

Manny stood there for a moment, at first, doing nothing. He eventually clobbered himself in the face with his hand. "Great, now she's mad at me." He felt that going after her now would just result in more yelling, so he decided to give her some time to cool off before talking to her again. Sighing, he walked back inside.

…………………………………

**I feel like this is a good place to stop. The computer deleted this chapter too. I can't wait to get my laptop. I've been using my Grandpa's.**

**Just throwing this out there, but does anyone have any ideas they'd like to see thrown in the story? If I like 'em, I may use 'em, but I just curious to see what you people think. I don't know if I'll use 'em or not.**


	24. Am I going to bite Manny?

**Let's see how this one goes, shall we?**

**We shall.**

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Manny trudged back inside, alone, and took his seat. Django, who was munching on his burger, looked around for the absent Kitten. "Where's Frida?"

Manny sighed. "She got mad at me and stormed off."

Django immediately stopped eating. "What did you do?"

Manny held his hands up defensively. "I didn't do anything! I just asked her if she was okay!"

Django shot up in his seat and slammed his hands on the table. "Dammit, Manny!" He put his hand to his forehead and took a deep breath. "Sorry. But, I told you I don't know how many times not to worry about her!"

Manny frowned. "Django, you can't have me find her dead and expect me not to worry! I…" he paused. "I love her."

Django sat back down. "I know you do, buddy. Look, I want to tell you what's going on. If I could, I would. But I can't, so I won't. You just have to trust me when I say-"

"_Why_ can't you tell me?" Manny interrupted.

Django sighed. "It's a Gatita issue."

"So, why are you involved?"

Django laughed. "I'm not. I'm just…" He searched for the right word. "Moral support."

"Well, why can't _I_ be moral support?"

"'Cause you're not dead." Django reached over and put a hand on Manny's shoulder. "Look, I'm gonna go talk to Kitten, okay? I'll see if I can convince her to tell you, how's that?"

"Thank you."

…

Frida sat down angrily by the water. If it weren't for these damn powers, she wouldn't have so many problems. And she wouldn't have to yell at Manny for no reason. She was so messed up right now and there was only one person she could think to blame it on.

Gatita.

Yeah, _she_ was Gatita, but being her was half the problem. She looked down at her belt. Her anger bubbled up and, without thinking, she tore her belt off and threw it a good ten feet away, instantly returning to her usually clothes. She felt her goggles on her head. It felt good to have them back. She missed them. Why could her powers be like Manny's? No big history or overpowering instincts. Just…powers.

She froze. Something wasn't right with this picture. She felt her goggles again. They were fine, but something else on her head… She slowly moved her hands back.

Sure enough, they were still there. Two cat ears.

She looked on the ground and saw her cat tail, still wrapped around her. She looked at her hands. Her claws were just as sharp and ever. She stuck her fingers in her mouth and quickly pulled them out when she felt the sharpness of her fangs.

"My God, will this never end?!" She yelled.

"No, it won't." She looked behind her and saw Django walk up to her.

"Why won't it?"

Django picked up her belt and sat next to her. "Rida could tell you better than I can."

Frida sighed. "I'm so sick of these damn problems! Either I go in the Cat State and hurt somebody, or I have dreams about killing somebody! Both of which are bad." She crossed her arms. "Damn this Cat State."

Django put his hand on her shoulder. "What's stopping you from telling Manny?"

"I can't. Rida told me not to."

"Do you know _why_ Rida told you not to?"

Frida looked up at him. "Why?"

"She doesn't trust Riveras." He said, simply. "She never has. She didn't trust Miguel and she doesn't trust Manny."

Frida cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, she did trust Miguel."

"No. She _loved_ him. She didn't trust him."

"Why?"

Django leaned back on his hands. "Well, you say the name 'Rivera' in front of her, I can guarantee you that the first thing that comes to her mind is 'Nosey bastard', or something like that. You were probably thinking the same thing when Manny asked you if you were okay, weren't you?" Frida nodded. "Yeah, that wasn't you thinking. That was Rida." Frida looked confused. "Well, it was _you_, but it was her…I mean, it was the part of her that is in you… if that makes sense."

"Ohhhh…" Frida said. "Wait…so what you mean is…. Rida and I are…kinda like the same person?"

Django laughed. "No Kitten. You basically _are_ the same person. The only difference is that you're alive and she's dead."

Frida looked back over the water. "My point, Kitten, is that you don't have to listen to her…do you _want_ to tell Manny?"

"Yeah, but-"

"So tell him!"

Frida sighed. "I can't."

"Why, because Rida told you not to?"

"No!" Her response was a bit louder than he expected. She sighed. "I had a dream last night."

Django sat up. "Yeah, you told me that, but you never got to the details. What happened?… Wait, before you tell me, you might want to put this back on." He handed her her belt.

She looked at it. "Why?"

Django blushed a bit. "You might want to re-learn how to sit in a skirt." Frida looked down at her lap and blushed as she realized that the way she was sitting, if you sat directly in front of her…yeah.

Sighing, she took the belt and replaced it on her hips, spinning the buckle as she did so.

"Alright, so tell me about this dream."

Frida pulled her legs up to her chest. Django put his hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath and began talking. "I was in the Cat State, or rather I was watching myself in the Cat State. I was mindlessly killing all my friends and family. I was about to bite Manny, then I woke up. I had had a dream a few nights ago where a bit him, too. It was the exact same scene in both dreams. And I don't know why, but since this morning, I've just had this feeling that I was going to hurt him."

Django's eyes widened. "I don't want to scare you anymore than you already are, Hon, but that is _not_ good."

Frida rolled her eyes. "No kidding."

"No, no, I mean having a feeling that your going to hurt someone after you had a dream about hurting them. That's not good." Django explained. "I'm sure Rida told you about Gatita dreams?"

Frida nodded. "She said they always meant something, but what would…?" Django looked at her, his expression told her that he was waiting for her to realize something. She gasped. "Am I gonna bite Manny?!"

"I don't know, Kitten, but all signs point to…probably." He said. "Well, now that I know this…this changes everything."

"Exactly. Now you see why I can't tell him."

"No. Now I see why you _have_ to tell him."

Frida looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you kidding? Why?"

"Because." He put his arm around her, and she leaned on him. "Look, Frida, I can see why you don't want to, but don't you think it would be better for him if he knew?"

She looked up at him. "But…. There's no _guarantee_ that I will, right? I mean…it could mean something else, right?"

Django sighed, tightening his hold on her. "Rida must not have told you then."

"…told me what?"

"You said you had a _feeling_?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Gatita's kind of…physic."

Frida's eyes widened. "Physic…as in…?"

"As in, if you have a _feeling_ your going to bite Manny after having a _dream_ about biting Manny…Your probably going to bite Manny."

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**Don't ask me why I chose to stop here…I don't know. Shorter than I wanted it to be...oh well.**


	25. Oh, I'll show you a nice kitty

**My famous cliffhangers strikes again!!**

**….**

**That sounded wrong for some reason.**

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"As in, if you have a _feeling_ your going to bite Manny after having a _dream_ about biting Manny…Your probably going to bite Manny."

Frida sat up and looked at him. Her eyes were wide and she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Now you see why you have to tell him."

Frida looked down at her knees, which she still had pulled up to her chest. "But…Rida…"

"Screw what Rida said!" Django interrupted. "I already told you, you don't have to listen to her!"

"Why do you want me to tell Manny so bad?"

He rubbed her shoulder with his thumb. "Don't you think it would be better for him if he knew? Here, let me give you an example. Let's switch you two, let's say your La Tigressa and he's El Gatito. If he knew he was going to bite you, wouldn't you want him to tell you? I know I would."

"You're dead."

"Whatever, you see my point?" He pulled her closer and she leaned her head on his shoulder again. "Look, why did you get mad at him earlier?"

Her previous anger bubbled up again. "He asked me if I was okay and I told him, plain and simply that I was fine. Then he gets all 'I know you're not so stop telling me you are' and just…"

"Frida, he's just worried about you."

"Well, you and I both told him not to."

Django chuckled. "You can tell him not to worry all day long, but he's still going to… Frida, he loves you."

Frida looked over the water. "I know he does."

"So why won't you tell him?"

"Because I don't want to!" Her voice was filled with a sudden and unexpected sharpness. She sat up from leaning on him. "An I'm not going to. Just drop it, Django."

"Well, you _should_."

"I said _drop it_!" She shrugged his arm off.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it doesn't matter what Rida-"

"Just leave Rida out of this!" she yelled.

"Well, I bet you a million bucks that if Rida hadn't told you not to tell him, you would've already told him by now."

Frida thought for a minute. That was true. She would have already told Manny if Rida hadn't told her not to, but she was _not_ going to lose this fight. "So what? What do you want me to tell him anyway? That I died, or that I know I'm going to bite him?"

"Both!" Django said. "You need to tell him what's going on."

"What's it matter to you, anyway?"

Her question sort of took him by surprise. "I'm just trying to help."

"You mean you're in love with me."

……………………………………….

Manny lay on his bed, thinking about Frida and hoping that Django talking to her would do more good than harm. Now that he thought about it, they had been gone an awfully long time. He assumed it wouldn't take that long, considering Django's knowledge of La Gatita. What was keeping them?

He pulled himself up, deciding he would go check on them. He wouldn't let himself be seen, assuming that Frida was still mad at him. He wouldn't spy, he would just… check on them. Make sure Frida hadn't killed him yet…sort of.

…………………………………………..

Django blushed. Had it been anyone else, he would've denied it, but he knew better than to try and lie to a Gatita. "That too." He blushed harder and looked down, suddenly finding his lap fascinating. "You sure know how to put a guy on the spot."

"Yeah, I'm really good at that." Frida was obviously not feeling the least bit awkward.

"Anyway," Django said, desperate to get off this topic. "I still think you should tell him."

"So what if I don't?" There was a lot of sass in her voice.

"Well, if you don't…" He paused before saying, "I will."

Her head snapped around to glare at him. "I swear to God, Django-"

"_You_ might take orders from Rida, but I don't."

"Take orders fr…? I'm not taking orders from anyone!" Her voice was starting to get loud again.

"Yes, you are. The only reason you're not telling him is because Rida told you not to!"

"So what? She's my other half! So, Duh, I'm going to trust her when she says-"

"Frida, she was _banished_ for the first one hundred years of her death!" Django yelled.

Frida froze. "What the hell does that mean?"

Django slapped his hand over his mouth. "Oh my God, I wasn't suppose to tell you that."

She perked up with curiosity. "What does that mean?!" She said again.

Django sighed. "Well, I already told you, so… It means that for the first one hundred years after she died, she was sentenced to exile. She was totally alone. She wasn't allowed to be reunited with her family or anyone else until she learned to control herself. One hundred alone will do that to you. That's why she's so calm and level headed." He stopped and let it all sink in.

Frida stared at him. She wasn't sure she had understood it all. "So…what does that have to do with me telling Manny?"

Django sighed loudly. "Frida, I hate to be so blunt, but… Rida's insane! She's just plain screwed up! She might be really good at hiding it, but she's messed up in the head! Look, she's my friend, and I love her like a sister, but-"

"How dare you."

Django looked at her. She had said it so quietly that he wasn't sure if he heard her right. "Sorry?"

"How dare you say something like that about her!" Frida's face was plastered in pure anger. "I can't believe you would actually say that!"

"Frida, honey, I'm pretty sure I know Rida a smigde better than you do. The truth hurts."

Bad choice of words.

"Excuse me?!" Django saw her anger surfacing.

"Kitten, take it easy."

"Take it easy?! You hound me about telling Manny something I don't want to tell him, and then you call my soul sister 'messed up in the head'…you're really starting to piss me off, buddy."

Django held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, just calm down, Frida. Niiice kitty."

"Don't you 'nice kitty' m-!" Django placed his finger on her lips and held her face in his other hand.

"Frida, listen to me. I can tell by looking at you that if you don't calm down _right now_, you _will_ go into the Cat State!" There was urgency in his voice. She thought about his words. He was right…again. She could feel her angry start to get out of hand. The last thing she wanted to do right now was be in the Cat State. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just…" But a thought came to her. Why was _she_ apologizing? _He_ was the one who was trying to pressure her into doing something she didn't want to do. _He_ was the one who had just talked trash about her ancestor, and now he was just going to tell her to 'calm down'? What the hell?! She bent her head down, letting her bangs shield her eyes from his view. A low growl escaped her lips.

Django's eyes widened at the sound. "F-Frida?"

She looked up at him, her eyes cat-like.

Oh, she'd show him a 'nice kitty' all right.

**………………………………………….**

**No, I haven't forgotten about Manny. He just hasn't got there yet.**

**I'd still like to know what suggestions for the story you guys have. I might not use them, but I'd like to hear them.**


	26. She's gonna bite you

**Do you guys realize that this is my 26****th ****chapter? Yay Cici! This is my longest story ever! And it's not even done yet! The secret word is pie. I'm starting to think I should wrap it up though. But even so, it'd be a good few more chapters.**

**Btw, someone asked me if the reason I asked for suggestions was because I needed them. No, I don't. I'm just curious as to what you guys think. I've got the whole story already written in my head, and can anyone say 'sequel'? I bet you guys don't even read these author notes. I will draw a picture by the request of anyone who can tell me what the secret word is (But, please, no OCs this time)….like it matters. No one will find it.**

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Manny quietly walked through the wooded area, following Django and Frida's scent. He didn't expect to hear a loud, familiar growling followed by a twang of a guitar. "Oh my God." He broke into a run, all intentions of sneaking abandon as he followed the noises. He burst through the trees into the clearing by the lake, and gasped at the first thing he saw.

Cat-eyed and hissing, Frida was perched on top Django's guitar, which he was holding in front of himself angles upward slightly. It looked like she had jumped high in the air and then lunged at him, which he had tried to block with his guitar. But instead of knocking her away, she had landed on it instead. And judging by Django's wide eyes and terrified expression, he had unintentionally put her in the perfect position to attack. Sure he was already dead, so she couldn't kill him, but being ripped to shreds by a crazed kitten wasn't exactly fun.

"Frida!" Manny yelled. She was ready to strike when she heard him. Distracted, she looked his way and smiled when she saw him. But it wasn't a happy smile. Well, it _was_, but not the kind of happy he wanted to see. It was vengeful and devious.

Django now forgotten, she turned on the guitar and lunged at Manny instead, knocking Django to the ground as she did so. She had attacked him so many times by now, you'd think he'd be use to it. But he wasn't. Nothing could get him use to seeing the girl he loved come at him with open claws. And knowing that he had to either fight back, or possibly be killed.

Frida tackled him to the ground quit easily, as he made no attempt to dodge or stop her. Pinning him to the ground, she stared at him, fangs bared and hissing. He stared back at her, his expression blank. This would usually be the part where he either kicked her off or switched positions so he was the one pinning her to the ground. But for some reason, he found himself incapable of either or anything else for that matter. As he looked in her wild cat eyes, he saw something. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew he had seen it before.

"Manny!" he heard Django shout from somewhere in the background, followed by another twang of his guitar. Frida, sensing the blast aimed at her, jumped off of Manny and onto the branch of a near by tree. Manny stayed down and the laser went right over him. Django ran up to him and helped pull him to his feet.

"You okay, buddy?" He asked. Manny scuffed.

"Am _I_ okay? Are _you_ okay? And what the hell happened?"

Django hesitated before saying, "I…told her…something about Rida that she…didn't agree with."

Manny cocked an eyebrow. "Well, dang, what'd you tell her?"

"I'll explain some other time, but right now, duck!"

"Wha…?"

"DUCK!" Django grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down, and Manny saw Frida's claws cut through the air where his head had previously been. He shot himself backwards, knocking Frida's feet from under her. She fell forwards, landing on her hands and knees. As she pulled herself together, Django and Manny scrambled to their feet and backed away.

"What do we do?"

"Why are asking me? _You're_ the one whose always handled her like this!"

Before Manny could reply, he was once again tackled, except something else happened. A gasp escape his lips as he felt ten sharp claws break his skin and enter his body. Wide-eyed, he looked down at his stomach where Frida was connected to him with blood soaked hands. He looked up at her. Her bangs were in his eyes again, so all he saw was a blank face.

Then, all of a sudden, he felt a shocking feeling surge throughout his entire body, as both he and Frida were engulfed by a yellow light.

Manny screamed in pain as the shocking only got stronger. Django fell to his knees, his brain not believing what his eyes saw. A tear escaped Manny's eye as he continued screaming, helpless to do anything else. Sparks danced around them, coming out of Frida's hands. Django panicked as the smell of burnt flesh started to stain the air.

And as quickly as it came, it was gone. Frida pushed him to the ground, pulling her claws out of him as she did so. He held his stomach, which was badly bleeding and slightly burnt. He and Django looked up at Frida, bracing themselves for whatever she did next.

But she did nothing. Her hair was still blocking her eyes from there vision. She stood there, perfectly still, just letting Manny's blood drip from her claws. When she finally did look up, her eyes were still cat-like, yet they held no emotion.

"F…Frida?" Manny managed to whisper. Django quickly looked at him, his own expression filled with fear and anticipation. Frida looked at neither of them, but stared somewhere far off into the distance. She slowly took a step towards Manny. He tensed with fear, but she walked right past him. He and Django looked after her, confused by her actions and wondering what would happen next. Just as they thought it, she broke into a run and disappeared into the woods.

Django ran over to Manny. "Dude, are you okay?" He helped him to his feet.

"Thanks. I'm…fine." He was still in too much pain to stand up straight, so he had to lean on Django. He looked in the direction Frida had gone in. "Shouldn't we go after her?"

"Manny, that is the least of your worries right now." He looked down at his friend's wounds. "I can't believe she did that."

"She's as unpredictable as an earthquake when she's in the Cat State. You know that."

"No, I mean…I can't believe she was _able_to do that!" He looked up at his friend. "Rida told me that it took her months to even realize she _could_ do that, let alone control it." He sighed and looked down. "Which reminds me…"

Manny cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

He looked up again. "I tried to get Frida to tell you, but she refused to. So I told her that if she didn't, I would…and I will. Remember when you found her dead the other night?"

Manny nodded. How could he forget? "Well, she _was_ dead. And she _knew_she was dead. She was pretending not to know because Rida told her not to tell you."

"Wait, wait, wait! Rida Suarez?" Django nodded. "But, how…?"

"Just listen. The reason Frida died was because Rida summoned her down to the Land of the Dead, so she could talk to her. About what, I don't know. Are you following me so far?"

Manny's head was spinning. He was so confused. "So, lemme get this straight…Frida died because Rida…made her die…so there nothing wrong with Frida?" That's all he really wanted to know. If she was okay.

"Oh, no, there's something very wrong with Frida. But I don't know what it is and her death had nothing to do with it." He hesitated. "Also….um…"

"What?"

Django sighed. "I really think Frida should be the one telling you this…but since she won't…"

"_What_?!"

"She had another nightmare…involving you…and the Cat State. She bit you…and then woke up with the feeling that she was going to hurt you. That's why she was trying to stay away from you today. The point here…is that…"

"Django, quit stuttering and spit it out already!"

"She's going to bite you."

Manny's eyes widened. "Que?"

"Gatita is physic. She had a dream about biting you and then had the feeling she was going to hurt you. My guess is…she's gonna bite you."

Manny was silent for awhile. "Well…" he didn't look Django in the eye. "So what? She's scratched me plenty of times before and-"

"Yeah, but she's never bitten you, has she?"

Manny looked at him. "N-no, I guess she hasn't… but-"

"Look, if a dog bites you, boo who. If a fish bites you, get your hand out of the fish tank. If Gatita bites you, you're screwed."

Manny's eyes widened. "What do you mean by-?"

"Gatita + bites you equals you die."

…………………………………………………………**.  
I don't like this chapter for some reason...oh well.**

**Let's see if anyone remembers the secret word, or could even find it in the first place. Remember, I'll draw a picture for anyone who does! **


	27. Author note

**Okay, I have a few reasons for writing this author note (IF YOU VALUE MY SANITY, YOU WILL READ THIS!!) **

**Number one, I am terribly, horribly, unbelieveably, abnormally, exetremely, rediculously, (and a whole bunch of other -ly words) sorry that I'm so far behind. My internet decided to be a gay bastard and lose it's connection for like a week! **

**Number two, I just my school just started up so chapters might start taking longer (if thats possible), and I'm sorry for that too. But I am working on them, I promise!!**

**Number three, if you got the secret word right, PM me or review with your request. By the way, for anyone with a request already made to me (mainly La Kitten, whose name is Ghost-Girl-Angel on here) it's done, but I don't have a scanner to post it with at the moment. Speaking of which, they may take a long time due to the no scanner issue. My mom promised she would get me one, but that was before school started...dang.**

**Stay with me people!!**


	28. You'd think she kissed him

…**If you read my author note…you know.**

………………………………………………………………………………………………

It took Manny a minute or two to process it, but then his eyes widened in realization. "So.., what your saying… is that Frida's…"

"Going to kill you, literally, yes." Django said. "That's why I think you should stay away from her for a bit."

It angered Manny that Django would say something like that. He pulled away from him, but was still to weak to stand on his own, so he stumbled before Django caught him again. "I don't care what she does or what you think she'd going to do. I'm not going to let that keep me away from her. I'm surprised you don't know that by now."

Django sighed. "Man, when they say 'crazy in love', they don't kid around. Look, I know you love her, and she knows it too, but you-"

Manny cut him off. "What do you mean she knows it, too?" His eyes were wide with shock and anxiety, and Django realize what he had assumed.

"I didn't tell her if that's what you're thinking!" He said quickly. "She told me. If it makes you feel any better, she put me on the spot big time and told me she knew that I loved her, too."

Although he partially didn't believe him when he said that he didn't tell her, Manny chuckled at his being put on the spot. One word came to his mind. Karma. But he soon shook it off. "Well, that's not the point. We should go after her!"

Django sighed at his stubbornness. "Have you ever noticed that following her when she's like this only leads to trouble?"

"I don't care." Manny tried his strength again and stepped away from Django. "Gatita's not the only cat around here with superpowers." And he walked with a slight limp in the direction Frida had gone in.

"Yeah, she's just the only one with a brain to use them with." Django muttered under his breath, and followed his friend.

...

Surprisingly, they hadn't even gone that deep into the forest before they found her laying unconscience on the ground. All pain forgotten, Manny immediately rushed to her, scooped her up and felt her chest, overwhelmed with relief when he felt a steady heartbeat.

"Figures." Django said. "Rida passed out the first time she shocked someone, too. I'm surprised she didn't pass out as soon as she let you go." He kept a distance of about 5 feet away.

"How do you know all these things?" Manny asked, curiousity bubbling.

"Rida's been dead for a loooong time. She's told me all the stories at least a dozen times each." He smirked. "So what do we do with her?"

Manny looked down at Frida in his arms. "I say we take her home and let her rest." Carefully, he stood up, holding her bridal style.

Django immediately took her from his arms. "I think _you_ need rest, my friend. Let me take care of her. If this kitty wakes up in your arms, you're totally screwed."

While Manny didn't like Django holding her like that, the part of him the was scared for his life told him that Django had a good point. They took her back to the cabin and Django lay her in his bed rather than Manny's, insisting that Manny needed to lie down too.

"I have to ask, does the fact that your in death danger mean nothing to you?" he asked as he helped the still limping Manny into his bed.

"While part of me is alittle freaked out, the rest of me loves her too much, I guess." Django sat down on the foot of Manny's bed.

"What do you think she'll do when she wakes up?"

Manny looked at her. "I wish I knew."

...

"Frida?"

Frida recognized the voice immediately. She didn't remember waking up, but she knew that she had been sitting at the edge of the lake for several hours. Without looking at the source of the voice, she said, "Hi, Manny."

Manny sat down next to her and she looked at him. His eyes were filled with concern and something else that she didn't recognize. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She huffed. "I'm fine, the question is are _you_ okay?" She looked down at his sides and cringed with hatred towards herself, knowing the she was the one who had inflicted those nasty cuts and burns.

"Yeah, it's nothing." He assured her. "Django...told me about your vision."

Frida's breath caught in her throat. Oh, if Django wasn't already dead...!

"It was just a dream. I'm not going to do anything." She said firmly when her breath finally came back to her. She looked over at him again and her eyes met his neck. The exact spot she had foreseen herself biting so many times.

"I trust you, Frida-" he looked over at her and instantly stumbled back with fear and shock. In that short period of time, her eyes had changed.

"Frida." He said slowly. He knew talking to her wouldn't work, but he continued to do it for whatever reason. Her expression was blank, but her cat-like eyes were glued to his neck. Without warning, she lunged at him so fast that he didn't even have time to react. She pinned him to the ground, hands on either side of his head, and without hesitation, lowered her fangs to his neck for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Except this time, they punctured his skin.

She felt him gasp beneath her and then fall silent. Fangs still intact, she smiled evilly against his skin, knowing that he was dying. It took her by total surprise when he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I love you." She heard him sigh, and then fell silent again.

Shocked, she quickly sat up to look at him. His arms remained around her waist. He gazed up at her, his eyes half-lidded, and she saw a thin layer of blush play across his features. The way he was looking at her, you'd think she had kissed him rather than bit him.

"What?" she said. Still in the Cat State, her voice was strangely ferocious.

"I said I love you." he repeated. His expression was almost...seductive. Randomly, she realized that his blood was dripping from her mouth, and she licked her lips to clear it off. Manny reached up and took her face in his hand.

"Let me help you with that." he whispered. Ignoring his bleeding neck, he pulled Frida down to him and connected his lips with hers.

...

**Back with a bang, eh? Yeah, I said eh. What about it? You wanna fight about it? Didn't think so, okay, moving on.**

**As of as soon as this chapter is posted, the secret word is officially over with. I'm already to busy as it is. I don't even know why I offer doing gifts and requests. Now I know why Super Macho doesn't do requests. lol.**


	29. But you didn't die

**Okay, I lied. My computer is being gay again. It won't let me log into my Deviant account or anything. Looks like the only fix to this problem is to get a new one. And my mom said something about working that out for my birthday, which is in November...yeah, I need it like NOW!! I'm writing this from the computer at the library. I heart the library**

**Btw, anyone else besides me notice how OOC these characters are?**

**...yeah, well...here you go.**

**...**

"Frida! Frida, wake up!" She heard a distant voice say. She thrashed around, tears streaming down her face and sweating. She felt hands on her and she struggled to pry them off.

"Frida!" The voice was closer now. She tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't. She soon heard other voices along with the first one.

"What's wrong?"

"Is she okay?"

"What happened?"

"Frida, honey, it was only a dream! Wake up, Kitten!" Another pair of hands join the first pair in trying to hold her still, other these hands were harder and colder. Like bone. As soon as she was able to, her eyes shot open and she stopped thrashing as she saw Manny and Django on either side of her, holding her down, and Deigo and Sergio watching anxiously from their bunks, all their eyes wide and filled with panic. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks, her breathing fast and heavy. She relaxed a bit and reached up to wipe away her tears.

She looked up at them. "Sorry."

"Sorry nothing." Django said, sitting down next to her. "What's wrong?"

She put her hand to her forehead, wiping the sweat away. "It's nothing, just another bad dre-" She froze as she thought about what she was saying. She looked up at Django with wide eye and saw her own shock mirrored in his face. "Oh God..." she breathed.

"What? What is it?" Manny asked, also sitting next to her. She glanced up at him once and was relieved when she felt no desire to bite him. But the feeling that she was going to was still there. Overwhelmed with joy and relief that he was okay, she lunged at him and threw her arms around him. She instantly pulled away when he moaned in pain. Then she saw the burns and gashes on his sides. She gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth, knowing perfectly well where they came from. Tears came to her eyes again. He saw her reaction and made to cover his sides.

"Don't worry about it." He asssured her. "It's nothing."

"You're lying."

Django took Frida's face in his hands and made her look at him. "Frida, exactly what happened in your dream?"

She looked at her lap. "You don't want to know."

"Trust me, I do." He said.

"No, trust _me_." She said in a firmer tone. "You _really don't_ want to know." She tilted her head slightly, allowing her bangs to fall over her eyes in a certain way that shielded them from Manny's view. She then motioned to him with them.

"I already told him." Django said, and Manny knew that he was talking about him.

"I know you did, you son of a bitch. I saw that in my vision." she growled. "After I told plain and simple not to!"

"Did you have another vision about biting me?" Manny asked quietly.

Without looking at him, Frida nodded slowly. "But something else happened, too."

"What was it?" Django asked.

She was about to say something but then shook her head. "Forget it. It's not that important." 'At least not to you', she thought.

As if reading her mind, Django said, "You just don't want to tell us."

"Don't even start with me, Django. I don't want to talk about it." Her sudden sharp tone startled everyone, including herself. "I think I need to clear my head." She gracefully slipped around them and out the door.

"Is it just me, or is her hair getting longer?" Diego asked.

...

Within moments, she found herself sitting at the edge of the lake. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about this place always made her feel better. She didn't even think about the fact that it was the same setting as in her dream.

She thought about her vision and what it could possibly mean. Cat State dreams were actually physic visions, so what happened in them were either true, or going to happen. Let's see... she and Manny by the lake, she bit him, he said he loved her-

Oh my God, he said he loved her! In a vision, she saw him tell her he loved her!

And then he kissed her!

"Frida?"

Frida recognized the voice immediately. Without looking at the source of the voice, she said, "Hi, Manny."

Manny sat down next to her and she looked at him. His eyes were filled with concern and something else that she didn't recognize. "Are you okay?" He asked.

She huffed. "I'm fine, the question is are _you_ okay?" She looked down at his sides and cringed with hatred towards herself, knowing the she was the one who had inflicted those nasty cuts and burns.

"Yeah, it's nothing." He assured her. "So, you know, Django...told me about your visions."

Frida jumped up and backed away, eyes wide with fear. This is exactly what happened in her vision! Her actions took Manny by surprise. He also jumped up and reached out towards her. "Frida, whats-?"

"No!" She smacked his hand away and turned her back to him. "This was my vision! The one last night, this is it!" She pressed her hands over her mouth and sqeezed her eyes shut.

Manny's eyes widened and he took a step backwards. "What...exactly happened in your-?"

"I bit you, you idiot!" She interrupted. "I bit you and then laughed as you bleed to death!" She opened her eyes, a thought coming to her. She bit him and she knew he was dying.

But he hadn't died.

At least, not that she saw. As she turned back around to look at him, he panicked and then relaxed when he saw her eyes were not yet changed.

"But you didn't die."

Manny wasn't entirely what he should do or think. Based on earlier experiences, he knew that the Cat State was as unpredictable as a rainstorm in the Sahara Desert, and based on what Django had told him, Frida's dreams always meant something when they involved the Cat State. So...what was going to happen now?

"Sooo...what do you think will happen?" he asked.

"I wish I knew!" She said, frustrated. "But just to be on the safe side, I think you should get away from me."

"Frida-"

"No!" She turned to face the lake and sat down again, pulling her knees up to her body. The bright moon gleamed down on her, giving her an angelic-like glow. Manny saw that Diego had been right. Her hair was definately longer than it had been. Knowing she was right and that he should get away from her for his own safety, he ignored his better judgement and once again sat down next to her.

Refusing to look at him, she said, "Are you deaf? Or do you just not get how dangerous I am to you?"

"Frida." he said it more firmly this time. But she still wouldn't look at him. The emotions she was suddenly sensing from him made her panic.

"What?" she said quietly.

"Look at me."

She shut her eyes and buried her face in her arms, which were wrapped tightly around her knees. "No."

She was suddenly on her back, hands pinned above her head. She felt him on top of her, but she still refused to open her eyes. "Dammit, Frida! I said look at me!"

It was now making her angry that he was yelling at her and telling her what to do, no less. Her anger showed on her face, but she kept her eyes closed tightly. "Who the hell do you think your talking to?!"

"Frida," his voice was calmer now. "Why won't you look at me?"

Her expression softened a bit. "because...in my vision-"

"I don't care about some damn vision! There's something I really want you to know, but I can't tell you unless you look at me!"

..................

**I choose to stop here simply because I can't think of what else to put and because I haven't uploaded in forever due to computer complications.**


	30. The Cat State

**Sorry for the wait. Writer's block is a bitch. And my computer died again. Damn thing. And then I had the whole thing written, but the stupid computer deleted it again!!!! D: Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!**

**For the record, I went to the Spy Museum for my birthday , and we had to pick a secret identity, and one of the chooses was Maria Rivera from Mexico…..I thought that was funny. **

………………………………………

Frida panicked. Was he an idiot? What the hell did he think he was doing? She struggled against him. She just knew that this was going to end badly.

'_Frida, listen to me. You've got to stay calm!'_

Frida instantly froze when she heard the all too familiar voice in the back of her head.

'_Stay calm, but get him off you. The fool's going to get himself killed!'_

'_How? What do I do? Can I look at him?'_

"_No! Your Gatita side will get angry and take over. Try and talk your way out of it.'_

There was a brief silence before Frida finally asked, _'Why do I want to kill him so much?'_

She heard Rida chuckle. _'While the real you love's him, your cat side hates his guts. It's a long story. I'll tell you later, but right now, get him away from you.'_

The telepathic conversation between the two Gatita's took no longer than 2 seconds. Their mental bond made that possible. Manny, who was still waiting, was oblivious to the communication. Frida sucked in a big gulp of air threw her teeth, and then, as gently as she could, kicked him off of her.

Manny was propelled back at least two yards, gracefully landing on his feet, eyes wide. Frida instantly got up and turned her back to him, accidentally letting a low growl slip out of her mouth. "Manny, please, listen." The sudden urgency in her voice stopped the comment he was about to make. "Being around me is just going to get you killed! I'm too dangerous! For your sake, you have to stay away from me." She hated what she was saying. She didn't want to be away from Manny, but it was for his own wellbeing.

"Frida, no-"

"Manny, I know that all I'm going to end up doing is hurting you. And that's the last thing I want. I wouldn't be able to live with mysel-". Her breath suddenly caught in her throat as a strange and powerful feeling overtook her whole body, quite literally out of nowhere. A chill in the air suddenly made it's presence known.

"Frida, I don't care how dangerous you are-" He didn't get to finish before he was saw what had happened to her. He breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. She wasn't even Frida. Her hair was suddenly long and wild. Her claws were suddenly twice as long and at least 4 times as sharp, if that were even possible. Her fangs were like those of a vampire. Her eyes were not only cat-like, but also a glowing red. Not just her looks, but her very aura felt deadly. Evil. this wasn't the normal Cat State. This was much worse.

She was terrifying.

She was beautiful.

She stared at him with the face of a killer. Fro several moments, nothing was said. Frida didn't move and Manny was frozen in fear. Finally, he started to slowly inch his way backwards. When he saw no change in her features, he backed up in longer strides.

It happened so fast, he didn't even see her move. She had thrown herself at him, aiming for his throat with her teeth. A slight twitch saved his live. Her fangs were currently embedded in his shoulder. And she was biting down _**hard**_.

"Frida!" Manny choked out. He tried to push her off of him, but to no prevail. The pain was to great that he had trouble breathing. "Frida...!" he said again, but this time it was no more than a whimper. Think was no longer possible as him began to go numb with pain, and his own instincts overpowered him. He placed his hands on her exposed sides and sunk his claws into them. The only response from her was that she bit down even harder. He thought his bone was going to break under the pressure. He sunk his claws deeper into her flesh. He was starting to lose feeling in his arm.

"Frida... please ..." his voice was nothing more than a whisper. He got dizzy when he realized his was laying in a pool of his own blood. Unable to stand it anymore, he pulled together all his strength and kicked her firmly in the stomach. It was enough to pry her off and knock her back a bit, but not much else. She did a flip in the air and landed on her feet. The blood dripping wounds in her sides began to glow a light blue color and healed instantly. In the darkness of the night, her glowing red eyes gave the surrounding area an eerie look as she slowly advanced on him again.

He knew there was only one way out of this. He jumped to his feet and ran like mad hell. He weaved threw the trees of the forest with ease, despite his wounded shoulder. being the son of the fastest hero in Miricle City had it's benefits. He looked over his shoulder, expecting the deadly she-cat to be hot on his trail. She was no where in sight. He stopped and looked around. She could be anywhere. She could be invisible for all he knew! He heard a low snarl behind him and spun around. Nothing. He heard another growl in the trees and looked up. Nobody. The sounds kept coming, but they didn't seem to have a source. They were coming from everywhere.

Suddenly, a blunt force from behind him knocked him to the ground, like someone kicked him in the back. He quickly rolled onto his back. Frida stood above him, foot on either side of his torso. Her eyes were narrow, her expression, murderous. She raised her hands above him and did nothing else. He saw sparks appear from finger tips.

"Oh no..." he breathed. He was instantly consumed by a pain much greater than anything he had ever experienced before as his body was engulfed with electricity. He couldn't even scream, the pain was so bad. It wasn't like the last time she had shocked him. This was much worse. _Much_ worse. The pain drained him to the point where he thought he would die if he was put through any more. Frida seemed to sence this, becasue she stopped and dropped to her knees, once again lowering her fangs to his throat.

"I love you." Manny said. She froze, eyes wide. Like lightning, she was on her feet and off of him. She wasn't even looking at him. She looked like she was having a heart attack. Something inside her seemed to have awoken, causing her Cat Side to start losing control. A load snarl escaped her lips and she dropped to her knees, holding her head.

Manny looked at the scene before him, confused. He was still paralized from pain, so he did nothing. Frida yanked a guitar charm off of her chocker that Manny hadn't even noticed she had. She threw it up into the air and jumped up with it. It caught her and flew away. That's when everything went black for Manny.

...........................

When Frida regained control, it was like a heavy black fog had been lifted. She had no idea what had just happened. But she knew that that was not the same Cat State that she always went into. That was so much worse. She sobbed silently. She took in a big gulp of air and tried to focus.

_'Rida, what just happened to me?_'

Their was no responce from her sister. She could tell that Rida was speechless and she sensed panic_. 'Rida, please, answer me! What was that?' _

_'...it's happening again...'_

............................

**Sorry that took forever!! I had it writen, but it got deleted!!! Again!! I sowee! D:**


	31. The Fever

**Let's see if I can get this done before I leave. Very unlikely, but it's possible.**

**..................................................................**

Django was pacing outside the cabin. They had been gone for way to long. Something was wrong. He had a gut feeling that something bad must have happened. He picked up and strapped on his guitar. He had to make sure everything was okay. But before he had taken two steps towards the woods, he saw something in the sky. It's looked like a... guitar?

'_Rida?!'_he thought. Frida jumped out of the air, guitar now it's original size and on her neck, and landed right in front of him and he saw that she was crying. "Frida, what's wrong?!"

She threw herself into his arms and buried her face into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. He held her to him, stroking her hair. "Shh, Frida, it's okay. Now, what's the matter?"

She said something, but her voice was muffled by his shirt. "What?" he asked.

Still crying, she drew back and looked up at him. "I d-don't know what h-happened! *sob* Everything was f-fine, and then I j-just lost control and-! *sob*-"

Django placed a finger over her mouth. "Frida, calm down and breath! You sound like you're about to pass out." He pulled her tight to him again. "Now just relax. It's over now."

"No it's not! That wasn't like all the other times I went into the Cat State! That was way worse! *sob* I think I almost k-killed Mann-" She gasped. "Oh my God, Manny! *sob*" She looked at Django with pleading eyes. "Django, you've got to go get him!"

It was then that Djangorealized they were missing someone. He looked her in the eye. "Okay, Frida, I'll get him, where is he?"

She sobbed some more. "I don't know, I can remember anything. Somewhere in the woods, I think."

He hugged her again. "Okay, you stay here. I'll go find him."

"Thank you, Django." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed and ran off to find his friend.

Frida felt lightheaded and walked into the cabin, where Diego and Sergio were ecstatic to see she was all right.

"Frida!" They both said happily.

Her heart suddenly surged in pain. She yelped and fell to her knees, holding her chest. The guys paniced and ran to help her.

"Frida, what's wrong?!" Deigo asked, helping her to her feet.

"My chest...." she said weakly. Sergio led her to Manny's bed and they sat down with her. She leaned on Sergio's shoulder (which resulted in him blushing like mad) while she let Diego check her vital signs. She noted that both boys had grown taller than her over the few years since they first fell for her.

"Frida...you're burning up! And you face is so red!" Diego said in alarm. She felt so weak that she barely could keep her eyes open. Well, hell, she could barely hear them. She did pick up little snippets of there conversation, like "What's wrong with her?" followed by something like "She got a really high fever! Like, _dangerously_high!" She felt another jerk in her heart and she slipped off the bed and hit the ground. Then everything went dark.

.........................

When he first woke up, the first thing he experienced was pain. Lots of it. All of his body, but concentrated at his shoulder and head. Once he was finally able to open his eyes, he saw more blackness. The night sky. He tried to move, but instantly abandoned the action when the pain intensified. Then he realized someone was shouting. Shouting his name.

"Manny!" It sounded like the source was really far away. "Frida!" he tried to say, but nothing came out.

The voice got closer. "Manny!" It defiantly wasn't Frida. The voice was male. He recognized it. Django.

"Django!" he shouted, or tried to shout. Only.a little sound came out. But apparently, Django was closer than Manny thought, and his little call was enough.

"Manny!" He rushed to his friends side. "What happened?" Manny tried to say something, but Django stopped him. "Never mind. Frida came and got me and told me to find you. She's freaking out." Carefully, he lifted Manny onto his back and started off towards the cabin.

"Frida..." Manny said weakly.

"Shh." Django interrupted. "Don't speak. You might hurt yourself."

The trip back to the cabin was alot faster than Manny anticipated. When they step through the door, they both gasped. Frida was lying in Django's bed, unconscious, red as a tomato with a wet cloth on her forehead, Diego and Sergio by her sides.

"What happened?!" Django asked, after setting Manny down on his own bed.

"She felt down and said her chest hurt, so we helped her up and I checked her out and she had a really high fever." Diego explained. "Then she just passed out!"

Manny, ignoring his own pain, pulled himself to his feet and crossed over to her. He sat down, pulled his glove off, and felt her face. It was burning up. "What's wrong with her?" He asked.

..............

**I have to stop here for now. It's not where I intented on stopping, but I want to post something while I was here. :D**


	32. Bring her to me

**Started on my friend's laptop on the bus. :D**

………………………..

"What's wrong with her?" He asked. He laid his hand on her hand and instantly withdrew it when a surge of energy traveled up his arm.

"I have no idea!" Diego said. "Her fever is really high, but I don't know what's with the electricity. Her whole body's like an outlet!"

Django stepped forward and placed his hand on her forehead, the electricity having no affect on him. He closed his eyes and focused.

'_Django, you've got to bring her down here to me!!'_

'_But, Rida-'_

"_No buts! Django, if we don't do something soon, she'll die!!'_

He pulled his hand away and opened his eyes, wide. He said nothing, but his breathed picked up it's pace. "What, what, what's wrong?!" Manny asked impatiently.

"We have to do something _now_." He said.

Diego rolled his eyes. "No shit, Sherlock."

Django glared at him and then turned to Manny. "Manny, she's dying."

Everyone froze, shock and fear plastered to their faces. Django was the first to speak. "I don't think this sickness has just now happened. I think it's been building up for awhile now. But we're just now seeing the effects of it. And, what _it _is, I have no clue."

A sudden gasp came from behind him. They turned to see Frida with her eyes open, but glazed over in a blue glow. She quickly sat up, looked at Django, and spoke in an unfamiliar voice. "Django, I am dead serious!! Bring her to me so I can do something!! For God's sake, she's dying!!!"

Django looked a little more than terrified when he finally realized who it was. "Rida?! How in the hell…?"

"Just do it!! And don't let her fall asleep. You might not be able to wake her up again. I can wake her up now, but that's it. Now, get her down here now!"

"But-!" Before he could finish, Frida gasped again, a small amount of sparks traveled over her skin, and her eyes went back to normal. She was awake, but still weak. She started to fall forward off the bed, but Manny was instantly there to catch her. She groaned a little in pain and looked up at him.

"Manny…" she said quietly. She reached up and touched his face. He flinched with anticipation of another shock, but there was none. "I'm so sorry."

He smiled at her. "Don't be. We just need to focus on getting you better." He turned to Django. "So, what are we going to do."

Django looked hesitant. He didn't make eye contact with anyone. Finally, he looked at Frida. Her face was still red, indicating the severity of her fever. He then realized there was only one possible hope for saving her. As much as he was against it, they had to take her to the Land of the Dead to see if Rida could do anything.

"We have to take her to Rida. That's the only thing that can save her." He finally said.

Manny froze. Not from Django's decision, but from a feeling he felt in the air, a feeling that wasn't there before. A dark feeling. Not just dark, evil. He recognized that feeling. And it seemed to be coming from…

"Oh God, no…"

Before Manny could react, Frida had lunged at Django and pinned him to the floor. He immediately jumped up and pulled her off of him. He saw that she had bitten his neck bone in the same spot she always tried to bite Manny, but of course, being dead, Django was unharmed by the bite. Manny held her wrists from behind her, trying his hardest to dominancy, but she wasn't making it easy for him with all her thrashing. Sergio and Diego panicked, as had no idea what was going on. Django pulled himself to his feet and tried to help Manny, only to have his hands, literally, sliced off.

"Don't! Let me handle this!" Manny shouted. There was only one thing he could think to do. Swinging his arms around her waist while still holding her wrists, he pulled her tight to his chest and gently kissed her neck. It wasn't much, but it was enough to wake the real Frida out of the new Cat State. The heavy feeling instantly lifted.

Frida dropped to her knees, Manny going right down with her, arms still around her. She was making gasping noises that sound like she was either choking or having trouble breathing.

"Frida, breath." He whispered in her ear. She was shaking like mad. Many looked up at Django. "If we're going, we need to go now."

"Oh, no!" Django said. "I'm not letting you anywhere _near_ Rida. 'We' refers to Frida and me. You're staying here."

Manny tightened his grip on the still shaking Frida. "Like _hell_ I am! No way you're going without me!"

Django sighed at his stubbornness. "Manny, I seriously don't think that taking you would be such a god idea. You and Rida wouldn't get along at _all_."

"Why?"

"She _hates_ Riveras."

Manny fell silent. She _hates _Riveras? She hates_ Riveras?_ _She _hates Riveras? Man, that sounded wrong no matter how you said it. Wasn't she, like, in love with a Rivera? The original El Tigre, no less.

"Why the hell would she hate Riveras? Wasn't she in love with one?" he finally asked.

"I know, right? It makes no sense. She loved one, yet she hates them. Go figure. Anyway, she loved Miguel, but the other Riveras thought that she was way to dangerous. They didn't like her, mainly because she always ended up hurting him when she was in the Cat State. She didn't trust any of them. Not even Miguel."

"Wait, wait, wait." Manny interrupted. "You just said she loved Miguel." Frida, still hanging limply in his arms, chuckled quietly. Django laughed too.

"Frida and I had this very same conversation just the yesterday. Yes, she loved him. But she didn't trust him. Don't ask me why, I don't know. But as far as I do know, I think it was the other Riveras who sent those hunters after her the day she died."

Manny had no idea how Rida had died, so this had no significant impact on him. Frida, however, instant looked up at Django. "Why didn't Rida tell me that?!"

"Because she doesn't know. And I'd really rather it stay that way, please." He said.

"Then how do you know?"

Django chuckled. "Rida's not the only dead person I know. Word travels fast when your dead."

Frida suddenly groaned and clutched at her chest as another surge of pain flowed through her heart. Manny looked at her and held her tighter.

"Django, I think we need to go, and I don't care if Rida likes it or not, but I'm going with you!" Manny said firmly.

Django sighed exaggeratedly. "I swear, you give new definition to the term 'crazy in love'."

Frida looked up at them. "What-?" She was interrupted by another beat of pain.

"Django!" Manny said.

"Alright! Alright! But, since you're still alive, Manny, we won't be able to stay long." He picked up his guitar and strapped it on.

"What about Frida? She's still alive, too." Manny pointed out.

"She's got spiritual powers protecting her. You on the other hand, if you stay there to long, you're screwed." He opened the door and motioned them out. Manny picked Frida up bridal style and carried her out.

"Hey!" Sergio said. "What are we supposed to do?"

Django looked back at him and Diego before shutting the door. "Get some sleep. Who knows, we might be in for hell tomorrow and I sure as hell ain't cleaning up any blood splatter."

Once outside, Django tuned his guitar for a certain trip to the Land of the Dead. "You sure you want to come with us, Manny?"

Manny looked at Frida curled up in his arms, hand on her still hurting chest. "You know it."

"Then let's do this thing." He strummed his guitar and they vanished from the spot.

………………………………………………

**Finished in my room with the laptop my friend let me borrow! :D**


	33. The Land of the Dead

**I love my friend Eva. She let me use her laptop this weekend. Everyone say thank you Eva!!**

………………………………………………………………………

Once the mass of energy subsided, they saw they were on what looked like a cliff in the middle of nowhere. The spot they were standing was a small patch of grass in the middle of the rocky plateau. Sure enough, they were in the Land of the Dead.

"What in the hell took you so damn long?!" A voice that sounded dangerously close to Frida's said from behind them. They turned around and Manny gasped. There, before him, stood a beautiful girl who looked exactly like Frida, give or take a few miner details, such as hair ruffles, fur color, and scars. She looked at Manny and her eyes widened. Manny notice that, while she looked exactly look Frida, her stare was much more intense and intimidating.

She stared at him for at least 30 seconds before she swallowed hard. "So…I gather you're the new El tigre." Her voice was heavy, like she was enraged at the very sight of him, but she was doing her best to hide it.

"Uh…yeah." He said nervously. She stare was so intense, so deep, it felt like she was staring straight into his very soul.

Rida chuckled. "You… look just like-"

Frida stirred in his arms. "Rida…?"

Rida instantly looked down at her. "Frida!" She snatched her from Manny's arms and hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry I let this happen to you!" She shooed Manny and Django off the grass and laid Frida down on it.

"It's not your fault, Rida." Frida said.

"Yes, it is! If I had just…" she stopped. She looked off to the side and sighed. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do to change that now. I'll just have to make up for it by getting that thing out of you."

"What thing?" Manny asked. "What's wrong with her?"

"Mind your own business, Rivera!" Rida said sharply. Manny jumped at the hostility in her voice. She placed her forefinger and middle finger on Frida's forehead and closed her eyes. Frida did also.

While this was happening, Django pulled Manny off to the side. "Manny, listen, if I were you, I would steer clear of Rida. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but she's insane. And I can tell just by looking at her that she is not happy to see you."

Manny looked at her. "Really? She seems pretty level headed to me."

"Yeah, she's good at that. She was…" he leaned forward and lowered his voice. "She was banished for the first 100 years of her death. She-"

"You know, Django," Rida said loudly from behind them. "I think it's _really_ _cute_ how you think I can't _hear_ you!" Her voice was sarcastic and threatening at the same time.

Django closed his eyes tight and bent forward slightly, like someone had just slapped him in the back of the head. "_Shit!"_

Manny turned to look back at Frida and Rida, as did Django. He cupped his hand to Manny's ear and said in a low whisper, "Basically, what I was trying to say is she's insane. She's just really good at hiding it. So just be careful."

"_Django, just shut up!!"_

He quickly put his hands by his side and stood up straight. "Shutting up."

Rida's fingers remained on Frida forehead. Before long, they started to glow a light blue, like Rida was opening a portal to Frida's mind with those two fingers. They watched with amazement. They stayed like that for a few minutes. Rida's expression looked like she was searching for something. Suddenly, sparks of energy crackled from the connection, like a lot of raw energy was building up between them. Frida flinched in pain and Rida hissed with effort. Then, all of a sudden, the glow changed from blue to black and Frida's eyes shot open, revealing the same red glowing eyes with black cat pupils that had compelled her to attack Manny just earlier that night. Rida yelled as the black energy traveled up her arm and forced her away from Frida, her own eyes turning cat-like as well.

Manny panicked. Two Gatitas in the Cat State. That couldn't be good. Rida shook off the stun of what she had just experienced. She looked at Frida, her eyes returning to normal.

Manny looked questioning. "Rida had a lot more experience than Frida does. She can go in and out when ever she wants and she had complete control." Django whispered to him.

Frida whined and squirmed around in pain and the black electricity that shock Rida surrounded her own body. Her claws flexed out like they wanted to shred something. Finally, the sparks sunk back into her body and she was left panting and shaking.

Manny was about to run forward to her, but Django held his arm out in from of him. "Don't get in Rida's way." He whispered.

They looked at Rida. She was quite shaken to. There was a terrified look on her face, like she was realizing that there was noting she could do. That was situation was out of her hands.

"This…" she started to say. "This is bad."

"No kidding." Django said.

She looked at him. "No, Django, bad as in…there nothing I can do! I know what's going on now, but there's nothing I can do to stop it! It's progressed to far already!"

"What has?!" Manny yelled. "Will you please tell me what's going on!!"

Rida looked away from him. "Django, I think you should take Rivera here to go see his ancestors."

"Excellent idea!" Django said, taking Manny's arm. "Come on, Manny."

"No!" He pulled his arm free of Django's grip and knelt down by Rida. "Look, Rida, I know you don't like me because I'm a Rivera, but you'd better tell me what's wrong with her, or so help me…!"

"_Manny_!!" Django yelled from behind him.

Rida's eyes narrowed. "And who are you to ridicule me?!"

"_Manny_!" They both looked to there side. Frida, who was supporting herself with her one hand while the other held her stomach, was looking at him with the deadliest of stares. "Let her alone!" Her voice was not weak at all. On the contrary, it was very strong. Her bangs curtained her face, shielding one eye from him. But the one eye he could see was cat-like.

"Frida!" Rida scrambled to her and hugged her. Manny remained frozen on the spot. Django walked up to him. "So, how's that visit to your ancestors sound now?"

Manny pulled himself to his feet. "Let's go."

...............................................................

**Dun dun dun!! Let us see how this goes, shall we?**

**We shall.**


	34. Leave her alone!

**I wanted to bring the Original El Tigre in at some point, and that time is now!! Yay.**

**Btw, it didn't occur to me that everyone in the land of the dead is a walking skeleton until just now, so we're going to pretend they have flesh. **

………………………………………………**..**

They stood outside the door to the Miguel Rivera's house. Django looked with a grimace at his bone filled yard. "Dude sure knows how to…clean up." Manny rolled is eyes and knocked on the door.

"_Who dares enter the lair of El Tigre?!" _A booming voice from inside said.

"It's meeee!" Manny said. The door swung open and two big, tattooed arms shot out and grabbed Manny, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Manny! My little descendant!" He said in his good voice. "It's been sooo long! How have you been? And more importantly, what brings you here to the Land of the Dead?"

Manny hugged him back. "Well, it all started about a week of two ago…"

_22 minutes later_

"…so now, I'm here."

Miguel was silent through the whole story. "So, uh…" he said quietly. "How Rida doing?"

"She's fine, I guess." Manny said. "The only thing I've seen of her so far is her being angry, but I assume-"

He was cut off by the door slamming open. "Who dares-?" Miguel started to say.

"Save it!!" Rida stood there, carrying Frida on her back. "Django, I…" Her eyes settled on Miguel and they both fell silent, just staring at each other.

"Rida…" he said quietly.

"Miguel…" her voice was also quiet. "Well, you've gotten…" she searched for a better word than the one she had, but could find no other. "Old."

He laughed softly. "Well, that's what happens when you live past your 30's…I guess."

The atmosphere was awkward and everyone could feel it. Rida looked around, turning to find something to take her focus away from the original El Tigre. "Django," she said again, meeting the gaze of the skeleton sitting in an armchair. "There's nothing I can do for her and I think being here in the Land of the Dead is just making it worse."

"Oh, for God's sake!" Manny yelled. "Rida, tell me what is wrong with her already!!"

She gave him a piercing stare and her eyes drifted once again to the other Tigre. "I'm sorry, but seeing you like that is just to weird." She walked over to Manny, who was sitting on the couch and set Frida down in his lap. Her eyes were half lidded as she leaned against his chest. He could tell she had practically no energy left in her. Her expression was blank, like someone who had just been told that she only had a little time left.

Rida turned to Miguel and held her hands out to him. Sparks flew out of her fingers and engulfed him. They weren't electric sparks. They actually had a certain shimmer to them. Like they had been smothered in glitter. When they subsided, the Miguel that was there before was now gone. In his place stood a much younger El Tigre. Like it was with Frida and Rida, he looked exactly like Manny, except he had no sleeves and his arms were still covered in tattoos.

He put a hand to his forehead. "Oh, that hurt my head." He then felt is head. "Wait a minute…" He looked at his hands and then reached up and caressed his face. "I'm young again!" He looked up at Rida.

She blushed and laughed quietly. "That's much better."

"Geez, Rida!" Manny said, looking at his ancestor. "Are you, like, a witch or something?"

She shrugged. "I prefer the term 'enchantress.'"

In one stride, Miguel crossed the room and grabbed her. "C'mere, chica!" He said happily and dipped her before crushing his lips to hers. She giggled the whole time he did this, and wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was so long overdue that they swayed on the spot, overjoyed to be together again.

Django's eye twitched awkwardly. He and Manny made eye contact and exchanged uncomfortable looks. Finally, Manny cleared his throat loudly. "Um…hey, guys?"

Miguel and Rida broke free from each other and both there expressions said "_What_?!", both obviously angry about being interrupted.

"Don't we have bigger problems to deal wit than lip-locking?" He motioned to Frida, who was still propped up against him, totally oblivious to what was going on.

"Right." She stood up straight and turned to Django. "You need to take her back to the Land of the Living. Being down here is only empowering the-" She cut herself off as she realized what she almost said. "You just need to get her back."

"For the last time, Rida!!" Manny shouted. "What's wrong with her?! I'm not leaving until you tell me."

Rida sighed at his stubbornness. "He is just like you." She said to Miguel.

He nuzzled his head on hers. "Just tell him." He whispered in her ear. "He deserves to know."

Rida scuffed. "Do you remember when it was happening to me and I told you about it?"

He laughed. "Yeah. Feels like yesterday." He smiled at her. "And nothing bad happened, did it?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you kidding? You flipped out. You didn't calm down for, like, a week!"

He chuckled nervously. "Okay, okay. Well, it's a big deal! I was just worried about you. Look, just tell him. He can take it probably a lot better than I did."

"Yeah, Rida, tell him!" Django interjected.

"Alright, alright! Quit ganging up on me!" She looked around and Django and Miguel before her eyes settled on Manny. "I suppose my mind has been changed from me." She looked at Frida. "Frida, can I tell him?" Frida didn't answer. She just continued to stare into space with lifeless eyes. Rida's expression changed to uncertain. "You don't sound to sure." She said.

"How do you know what she said?" Miguel asked.

"Telepathy." Rida bit her lower lips and looked down. "Okay, Frida. If you're sure…I'll tell him."

…………………………………………

**Ten bucks says none of you can guess what's wrong with Frida. If you get it right, then I will pat you on the head and say 'Good job!' XD**


	35. Rida's story

**Dear lord, I've been writing all weekend and I have to get this laptop back to Eva tomorrow, so this is my last night…writer's angst!!…I'm sure she'd let me have one more night if I ask nicely.**

……………………………………………………………………………**..**

"Alright, so tell me!" Manny said impatiently.

Rida stared at the floor for a while, taking in many deep breathes, before she finally sighed. "Fine." She walked over and sat on the couch beside Manny and Frida, Miguel following close behind and sitting on the floor at her feet.

Rida took in another deep breath before she started. "Okay, so along time ago, back while we were still alive, I had a vision one night about the Cat State." Her voice was slow and careful. She paused and fiddled with her hair. "Damn, I don't even know where to start."

Miguel took her hand and rubbed it with his thumb. They all could tell that she really didn't want to tell the story. Not just because she didn't think it was anyone's business but her and Frida's, but also because there was something in the story that she herself didn't want to relive. "Just relax, baby." Miguel said soothingly.

She took another breath and tapped her free fingers on her knee. "Basically, the La Gatita powers are already in the Suarez who possesses them, even without the belt. The belt just awakens them. That's why your powers are so different." She gestured to Manny and Frida. "But…with wearing the belt…" she paused again. "Okay, look the Cat State isn't like an over powering instinct. It's a completely different person who is living inside Frida. It's a demon that got into her through the belt. The bad thing is, once it's in, it's in. You can't just take the belt off and expect it to go away. It's still going to be there. The reason the effects of it aren't showing up until now is that demon thing, or soul, or parasite, or whatever the hell you want to call it needed time to mature and gain strength. What it will do now is, it will try to drain Frida, taking all of her energy from it's own. Once it does that, she'll die and it will try and take her body. But the things power can't be contained in a human body, no matter how strong. So it's will just kill her. It's already started and there's no reversing it. There's only one thing that can save her, and that's for her to take matters into her own hands. I've told her what she needs to do, and there's nothing you guy's can do to help…. do you understand anything I just said?"

All around her, there were blank faces, except Miguel who kissed her hand and leaned against her legs. Django's eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, the rest of him not moving an inch. Manny looked like someone had literally just ripped his heart out and made him watch as they stomped on it causing it to shatter into a million and one pieces, laughing hysterically the whole time. "Can you…" He said weakly. "Can you please run through that again? Just so I…I can be sure I got all that?"

Rida rolled her eyes and spoke very slowly, like she was explaining something to a mentally challenged two year old. "Frida has always had her powers. They were just dormant. When she put the belt on, they woke up. But, an entity, taking the form of the Cat State, also entered her body when she put the belt on. So, basically, when she went into the Cat State, that was the entity controlling her." Rida sighed and put her face in her hands. "I had a vision about all this happening. That's one of the reasons I killed myself. I thought it was me. But, apparently, I was wrong."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Django interrupt, finally able to speak. "What about the red-eyed Cat State?"

"Oh, good question!" Rida said. "Well, that first Cat State you saw, with just the cat pupils, that was the thing working through her. The red-eyed one, that was the thing itself. That's why when she was in just the regular one, she could fight it, whereas with the Red-eyed one, she can't. Get it?"

"Sort of…" Django sounded confused.

"Okay, look." Rida said to both him and Manny. "I know that whole thing is really confusing, but just bare with me. Frida got to get rid of that thing herself and there's nothing you guys can do about it, so try and spend a little less energy trying to figure it out, and a little more energy on-"

"Wait a minute!" Manny interrupted. "Why didn't this happen to you when you were alive? And if the Cat State is another person, how come you can go in and out whenever you want and have complete control?"

Rida was silent for a long time before she finally smirked. "Clever boy." She glanced at Django and then back at Manny. "Django told you I was sentenced to exile?" He nodded. "Exile is, like, purgatory. You're dead, but you can come to the Land of the Dead. And you can stay in the Land of the Living either. You're trapped between the two. Basically, you're a ghost. You've seen Casper, right?" He nodded again. "He's a ghost who is dead and hasn't crossed over. Obviously. _But_ in exile, you're still in the Land of the Living, but no one can see you, feel you, hear you, nothing. It's literally like you don't exist. It might not sound that bad now, but trust me. It's as close to hell as it gets."

"Okay, but that still doesn't answer my ques-"

"I'm getting to that!" Rida said. "I killed myself before that thing had time to mature. Then I was banished because it still technically lived inside me. Once in exile, I was able to expel it from my body. Yes, I still have the Cat State without it. That's because…" she shook her head. "Look, it's really complicated, okay? We Gatitas have the Cat State without the demon. But if it's living in us, which it is for Frida, it uses those times when we go into it to control us. Without the demon, we have the control. Understand?"

"Shockingly…yes…I think." Manny said. "That makes sense."

"Well, I'm glad you get it." Rida said.

"Okay, but why is this thing effecting Frida after just a few weeks? You had your belt for, like, a few years and it didn't even _start_ happening to you."

"Again, good question. The thing that lived in me was young and immature. If I had lived for just a little bit longer, it would have started happen soon. The thing that lives in Frida…it's the same one that lived in me. It spend it's time with me growing and maturing. Then I died just when it was ready to go. So over the years before Frida was born, it spent it's time attached to the belt, growing restless and impatient. Then she got it, and it was already grown and ready to control her. Get it?"

"…sort of."

"Hey, Rida?" Django asked.

"Hmm?"

"You said that she had her powers without the belt, it just channeled them, right?"

"That is correct."

"Is that why she still had her ears and tail that one time she was by the lake and she had taken her belt off?"

Rida smiled. "Yep. Well done, Django."

Manny looked down at Frida. She hadn't moved at all since she and Rida had gotten here. She felt cold to the touch and her skin was pale. Her eyes were lifeless and hollow. She looked almost…dead.

Manny pushed the thought out of his mind. He didn't want to think of her dead. He loved her too much to even except the idea. She'd make it through this. He knew she would.

"Hey, Manny?" Django said.

Snapped out of his thoughts, he turned to his friend. "Yeah?"

"We need to go now."

Manny cocked an eyebrow. "Why?" Django motioned to him and he looked down at his body. He was starting to turn to bone, just like the last time. "…Okay."

They said there finally farewells to Rida and Miguel. Rida kissed Frida's forehead before she allowed them to leave. As she and Miguel watched them go, he took her hand and looked at her. "Even after 200 years without you, I know that look. You don't think she'll make it, do you?"

Without looking at him, she shook her head. "Did you notice how lifeless she was?" He nodded. "They couldn't tell because of the atmosphere down here. I didn't want to tell them. They'll figure it out when they get home."

"Figure out what?"

"She's all ready dead."

Miguel gasped. "But…this is the Land of the Dead! Why wasn't she…?"

Rida started crying. "She's been sentenced to exile…just like I was."

……………………………………………………

**Didn't see that coming, did ya?**

**Did anyone have any problems understanding the description Rida gave about what happen to Frida, with the demon and all that stuff? If so, tell me and I'll elaborate.**


	36. Frida's farewell

**Like I said, Eva let me have one more day with her laptop because I asked nicely. :D …actually, I just "conveniently forgot it at home." Lol.**

**……………………………………………………………….**

Right up until those finally moments, she had been feeling nothing but pain. Pain like there was something in her that was trying to claw its way out. The burning of the electricity that she could not control continued to flow through her unwaveringly. She felt herself start to slip. Not literally, like slip on an ice cube. But more like slip away. Slip out of her very body. Like the fibers holding her together had snapped from the inside. With all her will and remaining strength, she had fought against the thing. Rather than slipping, she realized she was being forced out. That thing was trying to push her out, and she was not about to surrender control just like that. No way was she just going to lie down and die, and let that thing take her body without a fight. As unbearable as the pain was, she held on. She felt the thing probe her mind, looking for some weakness to use against her. Something that it could take and manipulate for it's own benefit. Something that would make her let go. She refused to be probed.

The thing grew angry at her unwillingness to cooperate. The pain grew worse as it continued to try and pry her loose of her control. It sent more energy into her with which it hoped to shock her out. As the pain in her reached a critical level, she realized there was no room inside her for both of them. One of them had to go. And it was not going to be her.

She gathered as much energy as she could, taking it from wherever she could find it. Places were scarce. All the energy from her powers was at the mercy of that thing. And all her strength was long since gone. But she refused to lose. With no other option, she took the energy she need from a place that the thing could not touch, and would not, for it was energy they both needed. When the thing realized what she was doing, it panicked and became enraged. With all its own power, it tried as hard as it could pry her loss before she could do what she intended on doing.

But it was to late.

With her own life energy, Frida silenced the thing. Silencing herself in the process.

………………………………………………………………

Manny couldn't sleep that night. It was pitch black in the cabin, so he couldn't see a thing. Yet, he continued to stare at Frida (or at least in her general direction), who was laying completely still next to him. She hadn't move or said anything since her and Rida had gotten to Miguel's house. Manny had talked to her for a while, knowing perfectly well she wouldn't answer him. He wondered what she could be thinking about that would cause her to be so silent and still. Usually when she had a lot on her mind, she would never shut up. She would talk about so much to the point where everyone around her was ready to stuff a sock in her mouth. Everyone, except Manny. He always listened to what she had to say. This stunned silence was very unusually for her.

But then again, technically, she was…dying.

Knowing that you might die probably put a lot on your mind that you didn't want to share. Still, he wondered what she was thinking about. Then his mind wandered off to other things, such as Rida and Miguel. They were finally reunited after over 200 years apart. He wondered what they were doing now. He wondered why they didn't just find each other when Miguel died. Now that was a question he'd never find an answer to. He wondered what would happen if Frida did end up dying…

Again, he forced the though out of his mind. He refused to think about it.

Diego and Sergio had bombarded them with a whole rainbow of questions when they got back to the cabin. Django had to re-tell the story. Manny immediately put Frida to bed and didn't let anyone bother her.

He sighed. Deciding that worrying wasn't going to do any good, he rolled over on his stomach to get more comfortable, absentmindedly putting his hand of Frida's stomach as he did so.

He instantly sat up. "Django! Wake up!" He yelled and reached over Frida to turn the light on. He hadn't felt the bare stomach that he had expected to feel. There was cotton covering it. Which meant she was in her regular clothes. But, how…?

Django shot up in his bed. "I'm up, I'm up!" He said, though still dazed. "What's…?" He looked at Frida. She was in her regular clothes. No Gatita anything. Her ears and tail were completely gone. Her face was pale and her expression hadn't even twitched. Closer look saw that her eyes were dilated.

"Django, what's wrong with her?!" Manny demanded. He was perfectly aware of the most likely reason, but he still refused to accept it.

Django looked her over. While he did this, Sergio and Diego also woke up and saw her.

"Good lord! What happened?" Diego asked.

Django knelt down next to her and looked into her eyes, a look of pure terror on his face. "Her ears and tail are gone…" he said, stating the obvious. "Which means her powers are…gone…. Which…means…"

"DON'T SAY IT!!" Manny shouted. "Django, don't you dare say it! That can't be it, she's not dead!" He didn't mean to say it. It just spilled out.

Django's expression didn't change. "Manny… I think… she…"

"Django, I'm warning you, don't you say it!" Manny knew he had no right to be yelling at Django. He just couldn't even begin to accept it. That's couldn't possibly be it. It had to be something else. What else, though, he had no idea.

Django pressed his ear against her chest, searching for any sigh of a heartbeat. Manny watched and waited anxiously. Django stayed there for an unnecessarily long time. Finally, he raised his head, his face plastered with a look of defeat. "If I had tear glands, I'd be crying right now." He said quietly.

Manny literally felt his heart break in his chest. His own tear glands kicked in and he started bawling uncontrollably, scooping Frida up in his arms and cradling her against his chest. Django didn't have to say it.

They all knew she was dead.

……………………………………..

**Lemme tell ya, I wrote Manny's scene first, then I went back and added Frida's scene. I'm quite proud of it, if I do say so myself.**


	37. Saying goodbye

**I got my laptop!!! Except it has no internet yet. My uncle, who is a computer enginer, came over and fixed my old computer, except the internet is really really really crappy. I can't get on Deviant or Youtube.**

**Also, Merry Christmas everyone!!!  
****........................**

When she awoke, she felt wonderful. All the pain she had been baring was suddenly gone and replaced with absolute comfort. The thing was gone. Or at least, it was out of her body. She felt whole again. She was back in control of her energy. That's when it occurred to her that part of it was totally gone.

She opened her eyes. She was totally surrounded by darkness. It wasn't a frightening, somethings-going-to-pop-out-and-get-you darkness. It was comfortable and relaxing. The kind of darkness some people had to have in order to sleep. She was that kind of girl. She couldn't sleep without utter blackness surrounding her. And this was that kind of darkness.

Or at least, it was. Until she saw the red eyes about 5 feet away, just sitting there, starring at her.  
......................................

Manny sat on the bench, starring at his shoes. He hadn't said a single word all day. His heart was so broken, that he thought if he so much as tried to speak, the rest of him would shatter. He had no idea she had such a huge family until he saw them all in one room. It seemed like there were hundreds of them. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents. Hundreds of Suarezs' gathered together from all over the world to say good bye.

He was sitting in the front row, alone. His parents were talking to her mother, who had to stop ever other word to sob into her tissue. His mother was crying too. His grandfather was sitting at the far left of another bench, also weeping into a tissue. Her sister's were in the very back of the church, holding each other and crying probably harder than anyone else. Her father stood alone in front of the table, not speaking. He had a look on his face that made it clear that he had woken up this morning thinking, hoping it was all a dream, and that he was stunned into silence to realize that it was all to real. Her other friends were here too. Diego and Sergio were also in the back crying. Django was leaning against a wall in the corner, not crying, as he had no tear glands, but his face expressed his pain.

The Riveras had explained to the Suarezs and Rodolpho where Manny and... where they had actually been over summer and how she had... passed. Manny was sure that the Suarez family would never again have anything good to say about anyone with the last name Rivera. Just like Rida, who was a Suarez anyway.

Manny didn't want to be here. Everyone was dressed in black, including himself. He didn't even know why he had agreed to come to this. If he knew it was going to be like this, he never would have let his parents drag him into the car. It was to sad. Everyone was crying. He didn't want his last memories of her be sad ones. He didn't want other people to remember her this way. He knew she wouldn't want that either.

In the front of the church, there was a display. A shrine, if you will. Tons of flowers (Roses. Her favorite.) and hundreds of pictures of her surrounded a... a coffin. Manny wouldn't allow himself to look at it directly. It hurt to bad. He knew all to well what was under that display. Like her father, he also had woken up this morning and prayed that the whole thing had been just a nightmare. They hadn't gotten out of school yet, they had never gone to Camp Robabank, they had never learned of their ancestors, Rida and Miguel, and she had never pocessed those powers that killed her.

But it was no dream. All those things _had_ happened.  
...............................

As soon as she met the gaze of those red eyes, a certain dread washed over her. Memories of nights that she had spend wollowing in pain, the inhuman level of her anger that bubbled up without warning, the cold feeling of another being living inside her that she couldn't comtrol.

_The demon._

She was starring the demon, the true cause of La Gatita's problems, right in the face. The gaze of the red eyes pierced through her like a knife. She felt a pressure on her throat that made breathing difficult. She raised her to her neck and a shiver went down her spine as she saw the demon follow her movement with it's eyes with extreme fasination. She felt like someone was choking her from the inside. She had no memory of getting up, but she was on her feet. The demons gaze intensified, it's terrifing eyes narrowing. The dark space made seeing it impossible, by suddenly, as if wanting to be recognized, the demon showed itself.

Frida starred with astonishment, still cluching her throat, into the eyes of the demon. For all it was worth, it could've been a red-eyed mirror, Because the thing looked just like her.  
..............................

He felt like if he was there for another minute longer, his heart would burst and they would have to have another funeral. But he soon found out that in his heartbreak, he couldn't move. Without her with him, everything felt wrong. He no longer found any purpose in life. he felt like, for the rest of his days, there would be a giant hole in him that no one would be able to fill. He would never love another woman the way he loved her. Hell, he would never love another woman period! He thought about just ending it...

"This is all you're fault."

Manny was brough out of his suicidal thoughts by a voice. Others had heard it to, as the whole church was suddenly silent, all eyes fixed upon Police Chief Emiliano Suarez. He turned to Manny, his face plastered with rage. "This is all your fault, Rivera!!"

Mrs. Suarez crossed to her husband. "Emiliano, don't you dare blame this on that innocent boy! He had nothing to do with this! Can't you see the poor thing is hurt enough already?!" Her voice was quiet, not wanting to cause a scene, but the Riveras heard her.

Mr. Suarez firmly took his wife by the shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. "Carmela, do you hear yourself?! _Our daughter is dead!" _He couldn't get through that staement without crying. "I always said nothing good would come from her hanging out with that boy, and I was right! She spend not even a month away from us with him, and now she's gone!" By this time, Carmela, along with every other Suarez in the room, was crying her eyes out. Manny felt tears flow down his own face too.

Rodolpho stepped protectively in front of Manny. "Cheif Suarez, how dare you blame this on my son?!" He said, suddenly blinded by rage. "He would never have let something like this happen intentionally! Carmela's right, he had nothing to do with it!"

Maria stepped forward and put a hand on her ex-husbands chest. "Rodolpho, calm down!"

Emiliano advanced on the Riveras, his mind clouded with a mixture of pain and rage. Carmela tried to hold him back, but he shook her off. Anita and Nikita, who had come to the front of the church during the verbal fight, also tried to restrain him, but it was obvious as he shook them off too that his anger had overpowered his better judgement. He ran forward and attacked Rodolpho, punching his square in the face. Gasps and shouts arose from the crowd of people, some of them cheering for Emiliano, as they agreed that it was Manny's fault. Rodolpho pulled himself together and punched Emiliano in the face as well, with he dodged and countered with a kick in the side.

"Dad!" Manny pulled his legs up to his body to get out of the way of the brawl in front of him. He looked at the scene. It remind him of when she used to attack him.

"Rodolpho!"

"Emiliano!"

Carmela and Maria ran forward and tried to pulled the men apart, but they were stopped by the twins and Grandpapi. They kept fighting, both of them getting in a good few blows, when it happened. Rodolpho punched Emiliano so hard, that he went flying and crashed into the table with the coffin on it. The entire room held his breath as it wobbled, threatening to fall. When it did, it hit the floor hard. All other sound inadiable, it filled the room with a loud bang. It rolled once on the floor before landing on it's side and flying open.

And she fell out.  
.........................

**Do you guys understand what happened? Rodolpho and Emiliano get into a fist fight (a wonderful thing to do at funerals), Emiliano crashes into the table and knocks over the coffin, it lands on it's side and Frida's body falls out. I just don't like the way I told it. It felt off somehow. Oh well. No, this story is not over. Duh.**


	38. Kiss her

**It's a sad day when an author can't think of anything to write. A sad day indeed. I was going to write a one shot to get rid of this insane writer's block, but sadly, the writer's block has me firm within its grasp. I guess I'll try to write the next chapter. Forgive me if it sucks.**

…………………………………………………

Silence. There had never before been a silence so quite. Manny looked at her. Pulling himself to his feet, he stared, frozen with pain and shock. She had landed on her side, lifeless as a rag doll, in the gorgeous white dress she had been dressed in. He couldn't handle seeing her like this. He lost it.

Dropping to his knees beside her, he scooped her up, cradling her to his chest, and sobbed uncontrollably. Behind him, Mrs. Suarez, Maria, and the twins had also dropped to their knees crying. Chief Suarez stared with a blank face, realizing what he had just caused. Everyone else was silent.

Manny held her as tight as he could, afraid to let go. Her skin was cold and pale. The glow she usually had was gone, replaced by a depressing dullness. His tears fell into her hair, which despite her… condition, was still as soft and silky as ever, although lacking it's usually warmth. Only now, seeing her like this, did he truly feel alone.

Finally, Rodolpho stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Mijo…" He said, although unable to continue the sentence. "Manny…" He tried again.

"No, Dad." Manny said between sobs. "Chief Suarez is right, this is my fault!"

"Manny, no it's not!" Carmela had pulled herself to her feet and stepped forward. "You had nothing to do with this! Don't listen to Emiliano, he says things he doesn't mean when he's-"

"But he's right!!" Manny interrupted her. "This _is_ all my fault! I knew she was dying, I should've done more, I could've saved her!" He turned a tear-soaked face to look at the adults behind him. "She died in my arms." He voice was thick with a sorrow that no one should have to endure. "Do you know what it's like to hold the girl you love while she's dying?"

"Manny, there's nothing you could've done." Django had stepped forward and knelt down beside them. He looked down at her and put a hand on Manny's shoulder. "I know how hard this must be for you. I'm sorry."

"It isn't just hard, it's impossible!" Manny said to Django, lowering his voice so only he could hear him. "Living without her… It doesn't feel right. It wasn't suppose to be like this!"

Django sighed. "I know, buddy, I know. It seems hard now, but time heals all wounds. Think about it this way; she's free now."

…………………………….

Rida paced anxiously around Miguel's one-room house.

"Rida, why so jittery?" He asked from the couch.

"Miguel, I have to help her!"

He sat up. "Help her?"

"Help Frida! She doesn't have as much experience as I did when I died! She's not ready to face that thing alone! She doesn't get out of exile until she expels it from her mind, and it's got a damn good hold on her. I had years more training than her and it still took me about 200 years to figure out its weakness!!" She sat down next to him and buried her face in her hands, her stress clearly readable through her actions.

He put his arm around her comfortingly. "What _is_ its weakness anyway?"

For a moment, she did nothing. Finally, she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Remember when we were still alive and I would go into the Cat State and you would wake me up by kissing me or holding me or just saying you loved me?"

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah."

Rida sighed. "That thing… that Frida has to deal with, it's a demon; all it knows is hate and negativity. When it's faced with positive feelings like love or friendship, it can't handle it." She turned to look at him. "That thing is pissed that her body couldn't handle it and died. It's going to try and drag her down to hell with it." She laid a hand on his cheek. "God, I missed you." She said before pulling him into a deep kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned her back on the couch before pulling away.

"That gives me an idea."

…………………………………………………..

Frida stared at the thing that looked exactly like her. It had a glare so intense, it felt like it was staring into the very soul. And, considering the fact that she was dead, it probably was.

_Oh my God, I'm dead. _She thought. In the back of her head, she knew she was dead, but it didn't actually click until just then. But if she was dead, why wasn't she in the Land of the Dead with Rida and Miguel?

Unless….

The silence was broken by a horrible snarl. The demon bared its sharp teeth at her and crouched low to the ground, ready to strike. There was no doubt in Frida's mind that this thing _was_ more feline than human. Realizing that the demon was about to pounce on her, she did a quick mental check of herself. She was still La Gatita, complete with ears, tail, fangs, and claws. Good. She had a feeling she was going to need those.

The demon growled at her threateningly before finally lunging at her.

……………………………………..

Emiliano slowly walked up to Manny and knelt beside him, Django and his daughter's body. "I… I'm so sorry, Manual. Carmela's right, I say things I don't mean when I'm upset. I know it wasn't your fault and I apologize for blaming you."

New tears cascaded down Manny's face. "But you were right! It was my fault!" A funeral director suddenly appeared from no where and leaned over Manny.

"Okay, son, now you're going to have to give us that body back now." He said with a false friendliness. Manny said nothing and held her tighter to his chest. Emiliano put his hand on his shoulder.

"Give her back, Manny." He said quietly. Manny sat there for a second before he hesitantly released her and allowed the director to put her back in the coffin, which had been replaced on the table during the whole scene. Maria ran forward and helped him to his feet. He clung to her and cried like a child would do. As the man was about to cover her up again, Manny heard a voice in his head. It was a familiar voice, one which sounded very similar to his own, but was still different somehow. It spoke only two words.

_Kiss her._

……………………………………..

**Well, that funeral director came out of no where, but I needed someone to take Frida's body away from Manny, and I didn't think anyone else would. **

**So, who thinks they can guess who was talking to Manny in his head? It should be obvious.**

**Reviews make me smile. ******


	39. Exile

**Guess what. I got a new computer!! Yayness! And the best part is, it actually works! Again, yayness!**

**Irrelevant, but I'm just throwing this out there. For those of you guy who are on DeviantArt, I'm having a contest that's been up since, like, November and only two people have entered so far. Deadline is February, but I'll probably extent it. You have to draw your favorite scene from this story or a picture of La Gatita. I am now going to attempt to read your mind. Your thinking 'Really? I should totally enter that contest!' .... First prize is a multi-chapter story and a scene picture to go with it. Second prize is a oneshot with a scene pic, and third prize is just a picture. ;D **

**Okay, I'll shut up now.  
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She did something. She didn't know what she did, but it suddenly wasn't dark anymore. It was night time, but it wasn't pitched black. They were in what looked like a dessert, surrounded by mountains. Just the two of them.

She had jumped. When the demon came at her, she jumped as high as she could to avoid it's attack. She gracefully landed on a rock that was sticking out of the side of the closest mountain like a branch. She realized how much energy she had. It was like she was in a deep hibernation and had awoken with enough stamina to take on a ten foot tall grizzly bear.

Or a demon.

She looked down. Said demon was looking up at her, starring with a gaze almost as intense as Rida's, except colder. She smiled evilly, open mouthed, showing off her fangs. Fangs that would put any vampire to shame. In another instant, she was gone. Frida looked around her. She didn't know what to do. Of course she had the instincts of a fighter, but that would do her little to no good against that thing.

She choked as five sharp claws pierced right through her chest from behind. Attacking from behind. She should have known. The demon roughly pulled it hand out of her chest and kicked her off the mountainside. As she fell, blood spilled down her front. How could she still bleed since she was dead? Well, she'd have to worry about that later. She felt no physical pain, but instead, an intense feeling of depression. A feeling like she had no possible chance in hell of winning this fight.

As the ground approached, Frida braced herself and twisted to land on her feet. The demon landed not ten feet away, having jump at the same time. They both lunged at each other, meeting in the air with a series of snaps and swipes that were all deflected. They landed again, closer this time, and the demon tackled Frida in the stomach. She landed hard on her back with the demon on top of her. She caught it's hands just before they could reach her with open claws.

It snarled at her and pushed with all it's might against her, glowing red eyes narrowed. Frida hissed with effort as she struggled to keep it off. The demon suddenly stopped pushing and smiled again. Frida's eyes widened in fear. What was it going to do now? It's hands started to glow dark red, sparks of black surrounding them. Frida gasped and released it's wrists as the energy traveled downward to where she was holding. The demon seized this opportunity to sink it claws into her shoulders. She screamed out as the dark energy overcame her. It felt like a mixture of liquid fire and electricity coursed through her veins. Along with the physical pain, she felt her heart break. It was like she just saw the one she loved in the tender, loving embrace of someone else. As this feeling engulfed her, she began to accept the fact that she was losing this fight.  
..........................

Manny leaped through the air as fast as his legs would take him. His course was set for the church, where her body was still laying. He bounded from roof top to roof top, desperately hoping he wasn't too late. As the church came into view, he sped up his pace.

After the viewing, Manny had come home and immediately tore his clothes off, desperate to forget where he had just been and why. He took no interest in wondering why he had heard a voice in his head. He brushed it off as his subconscious reminding him of an old desire that was never truly satisfied. Yes, he had kissed her before, but it was never the way he wanted it to be. The first time was in a game of spin the bottle, and the second time... she didn't remember the second time. After he changed into his pajamas, he threw himself on his bed and just cried. His heart wasn't just broken. It was shattered. He felt as though he would never be happy again. His love for her ran so deep, that now that she was gone, he felt like a hollow, broken, shell of a man. That's when he heard the voice again.

Miguel had told him was that if he kissed her, she might come back to life. Not just a quick peck, but a true, deep, passionate kiss. It wasn't a 100 percent guarantee, but there was a chance, and that was good enough for Manny. Just the possibility that they could be together again made him forget all the sorrow he felt at the viewing. But there was a small catch. Manny had to do so before it was too late. When was too late? He didn't know.

He landed by the front door and yanked on the handle. Locked. Go figure. He got anxious knowing that Frida's body was on the other side of that door. He had to find another way in. He stepped back and looked up at the colossal building, and it hit him. The bell tower. Of course!

He jumped up to it and landed gracefully on the edge. He grabbed one of the beams holding the roof up and jumped down into the tower, using his chains as a repelling line. When he reached the bottom, he reattached his hand and bolted in the direction of the room her body was in. He ran into said room so fast, he almost crashed into the coffin. He tore the lid off and looked at her dead body. She hadn't changed at all in the few hours since the viewing accident. He slid his arms around her shoulders and gently laid his lips on hers.  
...............................

Frida crashed against the side of the mountain, scraping up her back to the process. She felt sick. She was losing this fight and she knew it. Her will to go on was completely wiped away. The demon approached her again, laughing hysterically at her hopelessness.

Then Frida felt something. It was a feeling. A good feeling. A feeling she thought she'd never feel again. The demon stopped in it's tracks, eyes wide with shock and panic. Frida felt... happy.

Images of someones face felled her mind. Someone she forgot about. Someone she loved. Manny.

_Manny. _She wanted to be with him again. She wanted to feel his soft touch. She wanted to be in his arms. She wanted to kiss him. She remembered the night by the lake when he had told her he loved her, and how the next day, she had forgotten the whole thing. She had to see him again. Tell him she loved him.

She looked up at the demon, who had backed away from her, not able the handle the powerful emotions. She remembered how she used to attack Manny when she was in the Cat State. She hurt him. Because of the damn demon.  
....................................

Her lips were cold. Her whole body was cold, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he kissed her harder and pulled her closer.  
.....................................

Frida felt the emptiness flow out of her, replaced by the warm, loving feeling. She _would_avenge Manny's pain. She rose to her feet, her eyes dilating to that of a cat's. She refused to lose this fight.  
.....................................

**I know, kinda short, but at least it's up. Sorry it took so long.**


	40. The Last Fight

**Okay, I think one or two more chapter after this and it should be done. **

**.......................................................................................**

It was amazing. Being in total control of the Cat State. Her powers were her own again. At _her_mercy. Her senses were at their peak. She could pick up even the smallest of sounds, smells, and movements. She felt her strength replenish itself, along with the raw desire to use it. Electricity sparked at her fingertips, begging to be set free. She felt invincible.

But she hardly noticed. She was too busy focusing her hatred on the demon before her.  
.............................................

Manny couldn't help but worry that his kiss hadn't worked. He prayed that it did, but he had no way of knowing for sure. How long would it take for her to wake up?... if she did at all. He stoked her cold cheek. He didn't remember climbing into the casket, but he had. He didn't know how long him had stayed there, cradling her lifeless body tightly to him as silent tears ran down his face, but it had been awhile. His subconscious knew he probably shouldn't be there. If someone found him in a coffin, holding a dead body, he'd bet money that there'd be all sorts of drama.

But it wasn't just 'a dead body'. Not to him, anyway. It was Frida. His Frida. Leaving hadn't even crossed his mind. He didn't even think about the fact that she was dead.

_It's working._

Manny perked up at the sound of his ancestor's voice that only he could hear. _'What_?'

_She feels you. You're giving her the strength she needs to win. Just stay with her._

The voice was gone. Manny felt relief and happiness wash over him. And he did stay.  
.........................................

The demon cringed away from Frida, hands on it's head. It couldn't stand the powerful love that she felt. It wanted nothing more than to silence said emotions.

Frida jumped up as blood-red lightning shot out of the demon's hands. Enraged, it threw more bursts of energy into the air in her general direction, as she countered with her own blue energy. The two forces met in a violent explosion, showering the whole plain and mountain side with hot sparks.

Frida landed on the plateau. She felt alittle sick from the mixture of love and anger the churned inside her. They were two very different emotions and feeling both at the same time was a strange experiance. She flexed her claws as a new thought came to her head. She was dead. She was fighting a demon. She knew the only way to beat it was to send it back to hell. How did she do that?

She decided she would deal with that when the time came. She growled as the demon jumped into the air and sent more electricity at her. She jumped up as well, dodging it, and met the demon in the air. She delivered a hard punch in the stomach, followed by one to the face. The demon screeched as they both fell. Frida twisted in the air and threw her leg down, kicking the demon to the ground with a hard crash. She landed on her feet a few yards away. She wondered why it seemed so much weaker now than it had been only a few moments ago. Instantly, memories of Rida saying that it was weakened by love filled her head. She had never told it to her directly, but she knew. It then struck her why the demon wanted Manny dead so much. She loved him. And that weakened the demon. Get rid of Manny, replace the love with grief, replace the weak spot with something it could draw energy from.

The demon pushed itself up, eyes red with rage. It would _not_ be beaten by a mere mortal. It lunged at her with glowing claws as she did the same. Their hands connected and the energy from both felines sparked out around them, illuminating the whole cavern.

Frida looked at the face that looked exactly like her own. It was the face of the thing that had possessed Rida so many years ago. It was the face of the thing that had played a lead role in her death. It was the face of the thing that had separated her and Miguel. And it was the face of the thing that had caused Manny so much pain, both physically and emotionally. Her mind went blank with rage.

She yanked her hands away the brought them to the demons chest as raw power surged out of them. The demon screamed and tried to pry her off, but she wouldn't let go. She held her hands there for a good long time, listening to the demon shriek with pain. When she finally pulled away, she swiped at the demon's face with her claws, cutting it deeply. "That's for Miguel."

She kicked it hard in the side, sending it flying and it crashed into the mountain side. "That's for Rida."

She brought her hands together, energy flowing through them like a vein. When she pulled them apart, the energy collected between them in the form of what looked like a mixture of lightning and fire. As the power built up, the demon pulled itself to it's feet, drasticallyweakened, but too stubborn to quit. It ran at Frida with it claws open, but right before it could slash her, she released the energy.

It was so bright, it blinded her. The force of it was so strong that she had to brace herself to keep from flying backward herself. On any other occasion, she wouldn't have been able to handle it. She felt her body go weak as the power blasted out of her. But being in the Cat State gave her strength. Strength she had never experienced before.

When the energy subsided, she feel to her knees, suddenly exhausted. She looked up.

The demon was against the mountain wall, wide eyed and not moving. It was unquestionably singed to the point of fatality. It's breathing was heavy and sharp. Their was a large crater around it where the energy had hit. It slowly sank to the ground, never taking it's eyes off Frida.

Right before her eyes, she saw it slowly fade. It started with it's arm. What looked like dust slowly flew off it, carried away by the wind. The rest of it's body soon followed suit. It was like it was made of sand that was now being blown away. Frida saw one tear escape it's eye before it disappeared completely.

"And that was for Manny."  
..........................

Manny awoke the next day to being firmly shaken. He opened his eyes and squinted as the colorful light pouring into the church through the stained glass window fell upon his face. He looked up at the person shaking him.

The funeral director from the viewing looked down at him with a confused expression. "Son, I'm going to have to ask you to get out of Ms. Suarez's coffin."

Manny looked down at the cold body he held tightly in his arms. He suddenly felt a harsh tug on his heart. She was still dead. She wasn't supposed to be dead any more. She was supposed to come back to life. Why wasn't she moving?

He looked at the people who surrounded them. There was the funeral director and a few others from the morgue. Behind them stood the Suarez family. Not the whole of the Suarez clan, but her mother, father, and sisters. They were all dressed in black, same as the previous night. Her sisters and mother were all red in the face from crying, and tears still streamed down there faces. But her father...

Chief Suarez had a blank expression. Like his face had been replaced with a hard, unchanging mask. He didn't look Manny in the eye, or anyone else for that matter. He stared off at nothing in particular. As stone-like as his face was, Manny saw something beneath it. Grief. Hurt. He was hollow. The loss of his youngest daughter had literally torn him up on the inside. There was no doubt that he was not only broken hearted, but he was also ridden with guilt that he had let his youngest live her short life feeling like an outcast in her own home. It was clear that he blamed himself for her death.

There was something that Manny could empathize with.  
..................................

**Oh my Gawd, this literally took me like four days to write. Like, I would go to school and think of something and be like, "Oh, I gotta remember to add that!" so I kept going in and adding thing in random spots. Phew! Anywho, so, yeah. It's almost done!**


	41. The Funeral

**Okay, I might have lied. There might be a few more chapters after this. I don't know. We'll see. Sorry I kept you guys waiting. I've had alot on my plate. **

**For the record, there will be a sequel.  
..............................................................................................................................................**

Tears escaped Manny's eyes and mixed with the hot water of the shower. It felt wonderful to have the warm water run down his skin. He felt like he hadn't had a decent shower in weeks. Of course he took showers at camp, but it wasn't the same as being in his own bathroom. Besides, the water at camp never got as hot as he liked it.

He sniffled as his silent crying continued. He worked some shampoo through his curly locks with no real enthusiasm. He had been as El Tigrethe whole time at camp. It felt good to be out of it. Of course, good feelings were the last thing he was felling at that moment. He put a little more effort into the lather of his hair, trying to keep his mind on anything but where he was going in a few hours and why. When he felt it was clean enough, he rinsed it and followed up with some conditioner. He didn't usually use it. It always sat, neglected, in the corner of the shower. But he choose to take his sweet time today.

When he was finished, he turned off the water, wrapped a towel around his waist, and stepped out into the still steamy bathroom. He wiped away a portion of the fog on the mirror and looked at himself. His eyes settled on the reflection of the scar over his left eye. That one had been there for years. He remembered when he got it, back when his powers were still new. Then his sights traveled to his over eye. To the other scar that he had received just recently. He remembered getting that one, too. But that memory was much more painful. New tears filled his eyes.

His kiss hadn't worked. She wasn't coming back.  
..............................................................

"Manny?"

Manny looked up at the sound of his name. His mother looked back at him with a sympathetic expression. She had one arm wrapped around his shoulders in a comforting manor. "Mijo, we're here."

Manny looked out the window of the car and saw that they had arrived at the graveyard. Lots of people were already there, all dressed in black. He didn't want to be here. He could think of a million things he'd rather be doing right now, most of them involved killing himself. He knew if he had to see her dead again, he'd lose it for good. Tears hadn't stopped falling from his eyes all day. Not since this morning when he woke up in her coffin, and ran back home before her family could ask any questions. He had a feeling they wouldn't have anyway, though.

He, carrying a large bundle of red roses, and his family got out of the car and joined the other people on the grass around the intented burial sight. Most of them, Suarez. He noticed that some of them had blue hair, just as she did. So it _was_natural. Along with her family, there were some friends from school, like her band mates, Diego, and Sergio. Django was there, too, and he was the only one not crying. Mainly because his was physically unable to. Lots of kids from the camp were also there, along with El Oso.

But what really surprised Manny was when he saw Zoe Aves. She always wore black, but she was abit more dressed up than normal. Her arms were crossed tightly across her chest and she stared at the ground. Manny's eyes widened when he saw mascara streamed tears rolling down her face. He approached her.

When Zoe realized someone was standing in front of her, she looked up and blushed slightly when she saw Manny. She looked back down at the ground. "Hey."

"Hi." Manny coughed, clearing his throat. So much crying had made his voice hoarse. "So, uh... what are you doing... here?" He kept his voice soft. He was in so much emotional pain, he felt like raising it would make it worse for some reason.

Zoe sniffled once. She looked to the side, then back at the ground. She didn't answer for a long time, but when she did, her voice was quiet. "I didn't like her..." She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "... but I didn't want her... dead." She wiped her nose, too. "It's one of those things you don't think about until it happens... and... I feel like such a bitch! I was a totally jerk to her when she was... and now... she's actually..." Zoe was stopped by Manny 's arms wrapping around her. Her eyes widened and she gasped slightly at the unexpected gesture. She could feel him tremble as his own crying continued, the roses in his hand rubbing against her back. She slowly wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"For what?"

He pulled away to look at her, but kept his hands on her shoulders. "Remember that time at camp when you kissed me and I called you a... and threatened to..." Zoe blushed at the memory as Manny shook his head. "You remember that?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry, too." Her eyes fell apon the scar over his right eye that _she_had given him. "I'm sorry for say those nasty things about... her. They were totally uncalled for and..." She looked away from him. "I really do wich that I hadn't been so mean to her."

Manny shrugged. "Well, she wasn't exactly an angel to you, either." He knew that the meaness was pretty equal on both ends and he didn't want to get involved.

Zoe shook her head. "Yeah, but I started it." Manny knew that that was also true.

He patted her shoulder. "I'll see you around." He walked off in his Django's direction.

When he reached his dead friend... Manny felt a tug at his heart strings thinking of Django as that... When he reached his skeleton friend, Django immediately slid over to give Manny a place to sit. He was perched on the gate that surrounded the graveyard and was wearing his usually attire. Manny hopped up on it and they sat in silence for a while.

"So..." Django finally said. "How's it going?" His voice was weak. He, too, had a bouquet of roses settled on his lap.

"I don't want to be here." Manny said quietly. "I don't want to remember her like this. I want to remember her like she was when she was alive."

Django sighed. "I know, buddy. I know. It's hard. It's hard for all of us, but..."

"Miguel told me I could've saved her."

Django looked at his friend. Manny's tear-filled eyes were glue to the clouds. "What?"

Manny looked down at his shoes and sighed. "Miguel said that if I kissed her... she'd feel me in the next life... or where ever she is." He paused, and Django put a hand on his shoulder. "And it might bring her back... I snuck into the church last night and kissed her, like he said... and he told me it was working." He stopped and closed his eyes. New tears ran down his face. "But it didn't work."

Django was about to say something, but the priest stood up in front of the rose-covered casket and said, "Myself and the Suarez Family would like to thank everyone for coming. We'd like to start with the Lord's prayer."

Manny and Django got down from the gate and joined the rest of the people in front of the priest. Manny found his family and was immediately in his mother's arms again. The priest said many things, but Manny didn't hear any of them. Time seemed to flow by painfully slow as the priest spoke, and some of the Suarez's said some words of farewell. And eventually, people stepped forward to place flowers on the casket. When it finally got to be Manny's turn, he slowly made his way to the coffin and knelt down in front of it. he placed his flowers beside it and said, very, very quiet, "Goodbye, Frida."

He returned to stand with his family, and watch as they lowered her into the ground. When the first shovel full of dirt was thrown down into the grave, he said, "I'll always love you."

That's when it happened.

A blinding blue energy shot out of the ground, knocking the men with the shovels back. There were screams, yells, panic from the people. As the light intensified, more people fell back, but Manny remained on his feet, wide eyed, speechless. As quickly as it came, the light was gone. Everyone was silent, watching, waiting with anticipation for an explanation. Suddenly, a loud bang was heard, like someone kicking in a door, and the lid of the coffin flew up out of the ground. Some people screamed, but quickly fell silent again.

Manny heart was racing, his stomach doing somersaults. He heard heavy breathing coming from the grave. His heart almost stopped when he saw a hand raise out of the hole and grab the earth to pull inside up. He dropped to his knees and watched, speechless, as Frida pulled her self out of the ground. A huge smile spread across his face, but he found himself incapable of moving. Frida looked up at her family and friends. Her expression was annoyed, her cat ears flat against her skull, her tail flinging from side to side.

"I can't believe you guys tried to bury me!" She felt her head. "And without my goggles, no less!"  
.....................................................

**Yay! ^^**

**Well, I'm going to bed now, I'll write more later.**


	42. Friends

**I think it's funny how most of you thought that I was going to keep Frida dead. I'm not that mean. XD  
..........................................................**

Frida breathed heavily, trying to force air into her lungs. Her chest felt so tight. She assumed it was due to the fact that she hadn't taken a breath in over three days. She felt weak and stiff. Defeating a demon and coming back from the dead all in the same day took alot of energy out of her. Hell, climbing out of that grave took alot out of her. She was so drained. And as hard as she wheezed, her oxygen flow wasn't getting any better. She clutched at her chest, desperate for air. It wasn't just her lungs that were tight. It was her dress. The damn sleeveless, floor-length dress hugged her torso so tightly and strongly. That, mixed with the stiffness of her chest wouldn't allow any air into her lungs. It was one of those dresses that looked plenty beautiful, but the girl in it was damned to an evening of hyperventilating. She felt like she was drowning.

Manny was the first person to get over his shock. He pulled himself to his feet and rushed to her, so happy, he could cry....again. He had the intention of throwing his arms around her, but when he saw her trembling and wheezing in what looked like pain, he gasped, his happiness quickly fading. He dropped to his knees beside her and put a hand on her back. "Frida, what's wrong?"

She looked up at him and his eyes widened. She was starting to turn purple. "Can't.... breath...." She weakly pulled at the front of her chest, but it did no help. Manny panicked and he searched for a way to help. It looked like the tight dress was the source of the problem, so mouth-to-mouth was out. His eyes settled on the zipper on her back. Thinking quickly, he pulled her body up against his own, wrapped his arms around her waist, and unzipped the corset-like fabric.

Instantly, air was retrievable. She took in a big gulp of the sweet oxygen and leaned into Manny for support. Her chest hurt, like she had just run 10 miles, but she didn't care. Tear flowed from her eyes. She was with him again. After a few long moments of wheezing, she breathed in his sweet scent and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "Thank you." she whispered.

He caressed her back and pulled her tighter to him, but not too tight for the sake of her breathing. "Oh, Frida, I'm so glad you're alive." Tears escaped his eyes as well. They were together again. And he would see to it that it stayed that way this time.

"Frida..." She looked up over Manny's shoulder and saw her parents and sisters waking up from their shock as well.

She smiled at them. "Hi, guys." Her chest hurt when she spoke as well.

They instantly surrounded her. "Frida, thank God you're alive!" Her mother cried and hugged her tightly, but released her when she gasped in pain. "Are you alright?"

Frida blinked a few times. "I'm _really_ hungry." She said weakly. "Can we stop by Arby's on the way home?"

They all laughed. Same old Frida. Tears came to her family's eyes and they went to embrace her. She suddenly screamed out of agony.

"Mija, what is it?!" Her mother asked in concern. Frida fell against Manny, taking a sharp breath in through her teeth, and unintentionally dug her claws into Manny's shoulders. She tensed up as the burning pain in her back that had suddenly come out of no where intensified. She heard her family and Manny gasp.

On her back, right between her shoulder blades, a huge scar surfaced. It was jagged and about the size of a hand. She couldn't see it, but judging by her loved one'semotions of shock and fear, which she could sence quite clearly, she bet she knew what it was.

She reached around herself and covered it with her hand. "It's nothing, ignore it."

"Frida, what...?" Her father asked.

She didn't want to think about it, let alone talk about it. She buried her face in Manny's chest. He wrapped his arm around her again, being extra careful of the mysterious scar. She sighed. It felt so good to be in his arms again. She wanted to tell him she loved him. She wanted to kiss him. Of course, those were two things that would have to wait until her family wasn't around.

"That... thing." she finally said. "It ran me through with it's claws."

Her family was silent, but Manny knew what she was talking about. "Mija..." her mother said. "...How...?"

Knowing the unspoken question, Frida smiled and nuzzled Manny's chest. "Manny saved me."

He blushed as the Suarez's stared him down. He tried not to look them in the eye. He was still alittle embarrassed about them finding him in her coffin. His eyes widened in complete surprise when the Suarezs pulled both Frida and himself into a group hug. It wasn't a "I'm just hugging you to be nice" hug, like he expected. It was warm. Even Chief Suarez had a tender embrace. It made Manny feel accepted. He hugged them back. After a few moments, they pulled away.

"Thank you, Manuel." Emiliano said.

He smiled warmly. "Your welcome."

The other funeral guess were getting anxious, waiting, most of them crying tears of joy. Carmela and Emiliano noticed this. "Frida, sweetie," Carmela said. "I think there are some people here who want to say hello to you." Frida looked over Manny's shoulder at the large crowd of people and smiled.

"Where's my belt?" She asked, abruptly.

_Frida, no, not yet. Wait until you're strength is restored._

The all too familiar voice in Frida's head disappeared as quickly as it came. She sighed. She could tell by the faces around her, mainly Manny's, that they were all thinking the same thing. "Well, I'm _not_ zipping this dress up again, so..."

"Here." Manny said, and took his jacket off. She accepted it and put it on. Considering that she was a great deal tinier than he was, his jacket was like a short dress on her. She stripped off the rest of her anti-breathing attire and buttoned the blazer up.

Emiliano took her from Manny and brought her to the people. Manny watched as she was passed around, being hugged by about ten people at once. She looked happy. It made his heart smile to see her like that. That's the way it should be. Frida should always be smiling.

Hours passed, and everyone had had a chance to see Frida. Well... almost everyone.

"Kitten lives!!!" Django yelled happily, throwing his arms around her. "You really do have nine lives!!!"

She laughed and returned his embrace, leaning into him, as she still was too weak to walk on her own. "Nah, just two."

Django pulled away to look at her, but kept his arms securely around her waist to hold her up. "Kitten, what happened?"

Manny's eyes widened. Frida's expression immediately fell and she looked to the side. "I'd... rather not talk about."

"Oh, God, I'm sorry!" Django said quickly. "I... I'll shut up."

Frida chuckled and looked back up at him. "It's okay, I'll get over it." Manny smiled warmly. Just like old times. It wasn't long before Frida was attacked by both Sergio and Diego as well. She laughed as each of them hugged her and told her how much they missed her. The five of them sat together, just talking, avoiding the topic of Frida's miraculous resurrection. As much as the guys wanted to know, Firda made it very clear that she didn't want to discuss it. She was home now, and she wouldn't allow those horrible memories to ruin it for her. Manny was happy to share the moment with all of them. As much as he wanted to be with Frida alone, she was happy being surrounded by friends who missed her. And her happy made him happy.

They had been listening to Django blab on about what Sartana thought of Frida's death (apparently, she said she would miss the little trouble-maker), when he stopped mid-sentence. His eyes were settled on something just behind Diego. Frida followed his gaze and made eye contact with Zoe Aves. Frida wasn't quite sure what to think when she saw her red face, eyes slightly crusty from tears. She was holding a paper plate full of food, including churros.

"Um...." Zoe said. "Hi."

"Hey." Frida replied. Confusion was present in her voice.

Manny could tell that Zoe wanted to talk to Frida about something or another. He looked over Django, Diego and Sergio. "I think was should give these ladies a moment." he said, raising to his feet. The others took his hint and followed him to the table covered in food.

Zoe stood there for moment, feeling a little awkward. Eventually, she took the seat that Django had been in across from Frida in the little circle they had made. She offered Frida the plate of food. "I... heard you were hungry." Frida looked at the plate, then back up at Zoe, then at the plate again before taking it.

"Thank you." She was still alittle more than extremely confused, but that didn't stop her from devouring the food placed before her. She still hadn't eaten in over three days, and what self-respecting chica says no to free churros?

"So..." Frida looked up at the sound of Zoe's voice. She was twiddling her thumbs and not looking Frida in the eye. "Um..."

"This whole rivalry thing is stupid." Zoe's head snapped up at the expected comment.

"Yeah, it totally is." She said. She thanked God for Frida's understanding.

"I mean, what the hell are we even mad about?"

"I don't even know, it's stupid."

"It's completely stupid."

Frida laughed and Zoe soon joined in. "Seriously, though, I want to apologize." Zoe said. "I mean, with you..."

"Dying?" Frida smirked. "It's okay, you can say it."

Zoe smiled. "Yeah, that. It made me see how... childish this whole thing was. I feel like a bitch."

Frida shrugged, stuffing another watermelon slice into her mouth. "Well, I was no angel to you, either." Zoe laughed. "What's so funny?"

"That's the exact same thing Manny said."

Frida smiled and rolled her eyes. "What can I say, we have to same brain."

Zoe chuckled. "So..." Frida said, holding out her hand. "Friends?"

She smiled, taking her hand and shaking it. "Friends."  
............................

Later that night, everyone one had gone home. They were quite sure what to do with all the funeral stuff, as Frida coming back to life was the last thing they expected. The Suarez clan all stayed at Frida's house, which left the place very crowded since the family was so big. Frida herself remained at the graveyard. There was something she wanted to see. Manny promised her parents that he would take her home when she was finished, whenever that was. He slowly walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. Having something in her stomach, she could stand, but still couldn't walk so well.

_'R.I.P.  
__Rida Suarez  
1551-1566  
__Daughter, Lover, Friend.' _

"This is her grave." Frida said, to herself more than Manny. "I didn't know this was even in this town."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head on her shoulder. "So... I don't suppose that dying and coming back to life jogged your memory at all?"

She smiled and leaned back into him, placing her hands over his own to hold them in place and wrapped her tail around his waist. "Actually," she whispered. "It did." She nuzzled his cheek. "I love you."

He smiled. "I love you, too." She turned her face to him and there lips met in a long anticipated kiss. Frida turned around to face him and he tightened his hold on her waist, lifting her off the ground slightly. Her arms snaked around his neck her legs wrapped around his waist. Manny's insides melted. This was how it was supposed to be. He could feel it. They were meant for each other. They both knew it. She was so light. She felt fragile and weak in his arms. Poor thing had to be starving. He broke away from her, leaning his forehead against hers. "Are you hungry?" He was answered by a loud growling coming from her stomach. He laughed. "I'll take that as a yes." He kissed her briefly and then flipped her abit until he was holding her bridal style. She never losened her arms around his neck and leaned her head in the crook of his neck. "Wanna go to Arby's?" He asked, half teasing but still loving. She tightened her grip and nodded.

"Can I stay at your house tonight?" She asked. "I know my mom will make me share my room with my cousin, and she snored."

Manny chuckled and spun his belt, ready to spring off. "I insist."  
..............................

**Well, there you go. No, this is not the end. I was thinking about making this the end, but then I realized they still have to... oops. I almost spoiled it. ^^ **

**I definately think this could've been better, but oh well. At least it's longer.**


	43. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**………………………………...............**

Frida snuggled into the softness of her pillow as Manny sat on the armrest and fanned her, trying to cool her down. He currently had her laying on the couch in his living room with lights dimmed. He had given her some of his old gym clothes to wear. The shirt itself was like a dress on her. She had a cough and was running a slight fever, but she was alive. He leaned over and brushed her hair away from her face. "Hey," he said softly. "You alright?"

She looked up at him, face slightly red, and coughed. "Can I have some water?"

"Claro." He kissed her forehead and hurried into the kitchen, returning in record time with a tall, ice-filled glass. She sat up and gulped it down as Manny perched himself back on the armrest. Frida set the now empty glass on the floor, but didn't lay back down. Instead, she patted the spot next to her. "Sit with me."

He smiled and slid onto the spot next to her and she laid her head down on his lap. He rested one hand on her side and scratched her kitty ear with the other. She started purring and snuggled closer to him. "You saved my life." She whispered. "Again."

He bent down and nuzzled her cheek. "No I didn't. _You _beat that thing."

She rolled onto her back. "I wouldn't have made it if you hadn't kissed me." She laughed quietly. "I was getting my ass kicked until you did that."

He smiled, caressing her face. "Don't think about that." he said. "You're back now and that's what matters." He gently slid his arms around her back, lifted her and placed his lips on hers. Her eyes fell shut as she loosely draped her arms around his shoulders. He moved one arm to slide behind her knees and pull her onto his lap, then replaced it on her back. He could feel the even texture of the scar through her shirt and instantly moved his hand. He felt her chuckle slightly. He broke away and leaned his forehead on hers. "Sorry."

She laughed again. "It's okay." He was about to kiss her again when she put her index finger over his lips and turned away, followed by a series of coughs. When she was done, she looked up at him. "Sorry."

He laughed and nuzzled her face. "You're so cute." She giggled and laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes. He stroked her hair. "Sleepy?" She nodded. Ever so carefully, he picked her up, carried her into his room and gently laid her down on his bed. She rolled onto her side and purred when he climbed in and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest. He smiled and closed his eyes.

It was silent for a moment. "Hey, Manny?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

He opened his eyes. "For what?"

She rolled onto her back to look at him. "For everything."

He held her tighter. "Frida, you have nothing to apologize for." He knew that she was trying to apologize for all the things she did in the Cat State. He wasn't going to let her.

"Yes I do." She said, reaching up to place her hand on his face. "I lied to you, I yelled at you for no reason, I _hurt _you…" She trailed off and looked away.

"Frida…" Manny started to say. Out of no where, she pushed him on his back, straddled him, and started to unbutton his shirt. "Frida, what are you doing?"

She said nothing. Her expression was serious. Once she had his shirt unbuttoned, she just stared at his bare chest for the longest time. She slowly ran her hands across his sides. "Look at those and tell me I have nothing to apologize for."

He looked down at his body and saw that his sides were covered in scars, some from claw marks, some from burns. She pushed the fabric off his shoulder and, straining his neck, he saw that he also had a pretty nasty mark where she had bit him that one time. He looked up and met her gaze. Tears were starting to come to her eyes and he was sure she was looking at the scar on his face that she had given him... No, that the demon had given him. He grabbed her and pulled her down on him. "That wasn't you. It's not your fault."

She trembled slightly as her tears fell. "But-"

"No buts!" He pulled her tightly to him. "Don't you _dare _blame yourself! I just got you back and I'm not going to let you spoil this moment by thinking that you did a bunch of terrible things. That. Was. Not. You!" The firm tone of his voice startled her. Her ears went back and she buried her face in his chest and sighed. She knew he was right. Technically, it wasn't her that had done those things to him… well, most of them.

She wiggled against his grasp to get him to loosen it so she could look at him. "Remember when you kept worrying about me and I called you nosey and told you off and all that?" He frowned and was about to say something, but she put kissed him once to keep him quiet. "That _was _me." She kissed him again. "_That's _what I have to apologize for."

Manny said nothing. She was right. She had done that stuff on her own, but he was sure she had a good reason for it. He pulled her to him again. "It still wasn't your fault."

"Dammit, Manny!" She tried to pull away from him again, but he brought his face level with hers and kissed her. She froze for a moment, but soon kissed back, her frustration quickly melting away. Maybe Manny was right. Maybe now wasn't the time to dwell on all the terrible things that happened in the past. Maybe now was the time to enjoy their time with each other. They were together again. That's all that mattered. Being there in his arms, she knew that's the way it was supposed to be.

…………….

_One week later…_

"Say cheese, mang!" El Oso set the timer on the camera and hurried to stand behind the group already poised in front of the water. Just as the timer was about to go off, Diego pressed a button on his wrist and a loud explosion could be heard behind them, on the other side of the lake. "_Cheese_!"

After the picture was taken, they all turned to see the massive fountain of nacho cheese pouring from the mess hall of the heroes camp. They laughed as they saw the campers there panicking and screaming, in totally shock of what just happened.

"Priceless." Frida said. Manny smiled at her. Over the past week, she had completely recovered from her fever and her strength has replenished itself. She looked better than she did before she died, if that was possible. She happen to glance over and catch him staring at her. "What?"

He shook his head. "Just thinking about how great you look."

She giggled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. "You're too kind."

"Hey, love kitties!" They looked to there left and saw Django waving them down from their blanket they had laid out. "Get your tails over here!"

They laughed and join him, Diego and Sergio on the blanket. That day was the last day of the season at camp Robabank. As a end-o'-the-summer treat, they had organized a cook-out picnic by the lake and gone through with their plan to flood the heroes camp with nacho cheese. The grill sizzled with hotdogs and hamburgers and laughter filled the air. It was the perfect ending to a less-than-perfect summer.

"So, what are your plans for the school year?" Sergio asked, directed at no one person.

"Well, I'm planning a bunch of heists with my guacamole monster." Diego said.

Manny laughed. "Then I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of my father."

Diego snorted. "Oh, c'mon, Manny, I thought we were considered friends now…. or at least allies."

"_We _are." He said, smiling. "My dad, not so much. The only reason he let me come back for this end of the summer thing was because of Frida's kitten eyes."

Frida took a proud bow. "Thaaank you."

They laughed. "So, what're you gonna do after this, Kitten?" Django asked.

She sighed. "Well, once my dad gets over the joy of having me back from the dead, I'm going to have to face the music about lying about what camp I was at and that I don't actually what to be a cop…. Not looking forward to that." She visibly shuddered. "So, what about you, Django?"

The skeleton leaned back on his hands. "Well, I think what I'm going to do is go visit Rida again…. You know, considering that the last time I saw her was under tragic circumstances… and after that… I don't know."

Frida laughed. "Give her a hug for me."

"I'll be sure and do that… if she doesn't re-kill me first."

Manny looked up at him. "Why would she do that?"

Django shrugged. "Not literally, but usually when I see her, she glomps me with enough force to knock someone out for three weeks." Frida and Manny laughed while Sergio and Diego remained a bit confused, as they didn't know who Rida was. "So, what's next for you, Manny?"

He shrugged and pulled Frida closer. "I don't really care what happens next. As long as we all stay friends, I'm fine." Django snickered. "What?"

"Dude, that was so cliché!" He laughed.

Frida thought about it. Manny was right. Even if she did get maimed by her parents for lying, she had him and that's all that mattered. Come to think of it, her position wasn't so bad. She was alive, to start with, which was a miracle in itself. And it was all thanks to Manny. Second off, she no longer had an arch enemy. Her and Zoe were at peace with each other, which, again, was a miracle. And third off, she now had a close-net group of friends to share the future with. No, not a bad position at all.

She smiled and leaned on Manny's shoulder. "It might've been cliché, but it's true. We've got each other, and that's what counts, right?"

There came notes of agreement from the others. Yes, the future was looking pretty good as far as she was concerned.

………

_**The End**_

**I want to thank all you guys that stuck with me through the whole story. You guys are the best.**


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